(Xinhua News Agency) The fourth round of the Sino-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) starts in Annapolis, Maryland in the United States on June 17. Chinese President Hu Jintao’s special representative and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and U.S. President George W. Bush’s special representative and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson co-chair the dialogue. At his speech at the opening ceremony, Mr. Wang points out that Chinese Government has launched large quantities of highly effective work in areas such as opening up financial services, IPR protection, product quality and food security.

Mr. Wang stresses that China and the United States should set their eyes on the future development, take each other’s concerns into consideration, treat and deal with Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations from strategic and long-term angles and resolve contradictions and divergences gradually through dialogues and communications. Chinese Government has launched large quantities of highly effective work in areas such as opening up financial services, IPR protection, product quality and food security; China has also achieved substantial progresses in aspects such as narrowing down China’s surplus in its trade with the United States and promoting the reform of RMB Exchange Rate Mechanism. To resolve some problems, we need time and should take into consideration China’s national situations, its current development phase and complicated factors such as international industrial transfer and division and international monetary system. Mr. Wang hopes the U.S. side can attach importance to China’s concerns.

Mr. Wang notes that against the background of constant expansion of the area where the interests of China meet those of the United States, SED should be used as an important platform under any circumstance. The two countries should, according to the consensus reached by the two state leaders, strengthen exchanges and communications on the overall, strategic and long-term issues in bilateral economic relations, continue to bring SED’s demonstration and guiding roles to other bilateral consultation mechanisms into full play and implement the achievements made by SED to bring the real interests to peoples in both countries.

Mr. Paulson indicates that the U.S.-China economic relations are complicated and extensive, and are crucial to both countries and the whole world. The relations between the United States and China are of great importance to promote bilateral interests and maintain a stable, secure and prosperous global economic system. Sustainable, vigorous and mutual respectful SED steers the proper development direction of U.S.-China relations and helps maintain substantial progresses in some issues which are important to economy of both countries and the whole world. It is difficult for the United States and China to reach consensus on economic issues all the time, and great divergences exist occasionally. So long as the two countries adhere to the dialogue mechanism for timely consultations, the bilateral relations can maintain stable development. The U.S. side expects to have deep discussions on a series of issues with China.

With a theme of “Sustainable Economic Growth”, this round of SED mainly discusses topics such as macro-economy and financial cycle management, public investment, common opportunities of energy and environment issues, trade and competitiveness and intensified investment.