Int'l media focus on official talks between Chinese, U.S. presidents

BEIJING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The international media have widely reported talks between Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting U.S. President Barack Obama here on Tuesday, saying the meeting reached consensus on many issues.

The Associated Press reported that Hu and Obama spoke in bold terms of the growing relationship between China and the United States and emphasized cooperation on the economy, climate change, energy and the nuclear issues of the Korean Peninsula and Iran.

The two leaders also set a date to hold the next round of human rights dialogue and reiterated the official description of the China-U.S. relationship as "positive, cooperative and comprehensive," the news agency reported.

AFP said the two leaders pledged to apply their joint political might to the world's toughest problems, adding that the pair voiced agreement on the need for action on climate change, restarting the Korean Peninsula six-party nuclear talks and returning the global economy to growth after the international economic crisis.

According to the reports of Reuters, Hu said both sides saw signs of a global economic recovery but noted there was some way to go.

The two sides said they were "determined to work together to achieve more sustainable and balanced global economic growth", echoing the position of the G20 on ironing out dangerous imbalances, the news agency noted.

The Itar-Tass news agency said both leaders agreed to resolve the nuclear issues of the Korean Peninsula and Iran through dialogue, adding that such a commitment served the common interests of China and the United States and all other parties concerned.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said the two presidents agreed to ramp up joint efforts in denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula through six-nation talks, which also reflected the Obama administration's belief that the six-party machanism was the best way to solve the nuclear issue.

Japan's Kyodo News reported that the Chinese and U.S. presidents agreed to cooperate on a plethora of critical issues, including North Korea's nuclear programs, global warming and bilateral trade.

On global warming, the two sides agreed to make a final push for a successful conclusion of a key U.N.-sponsored climate change conference taking place in Copenhagen in December, it said.

The two sides also announced a series of projects to promote clean energy as part of efforts to combat global warming, including the building of a joint clean-energy research facility, the news agency reported.

The official talks on bilateral ties and global issues of mutual concern were held here at the Great Hall of the People after a close-door meeting between the two presidents. They also held a joint press conference after the talks.

It is their third meeting this year, following one in London in April and another in New York in September.

Obama is on his first state visit to China at the invitation of Hu. He started the visit on Sunday in Shanghai and leaves China on Wednesday.