China and the US Thursday agreed that as major international
stakeholders and constructive partners the two nations could and
should work together on many issues at global, regional and
bilateral levels.
During the two-day second session of the China-US Global Issues
Forum, which closed Thursday in Beijing, officials of the two
countries discussed their activities around the world and the
potential to cooperate globally on issues relating to: energy
security and clean energy, public health, humanitarian assistance,
trafficking in persons, environmental conservation and sustainable
development, aid programs and international development
cooperation.
There was agreement that China and the US could and should work
together on these issues and other affairs. This would be
undertaken on a basis of seeking common ground while recognizing
and reducing differences and promoting cooperation.
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and US Under
Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula
Dobriansky led inter agency delegations attending the meeting.
There was participation from relevant bureaus and offices of the
Chinese Foreign Ministry and US Department of State. Other agencies
from the two countries were also involved.
On energy security and clean energy the two expressed their
concerns about the negative impact of soaring oil prices on the
world economy.
On this topic they discussed a range of global issues such as
international clean energy cooperation and initiatives relating to
cleaner and more efficient use of existing fuels, development of
new energy technology and collaborating to improve access to
cleaner and modern energy sources in poorer regions of the
world.
In a session dealing with environmental protection and natural
resource conservation the talks focused on ways the countries could
work together to pursue sustainable development by stemming the
illegal trade in wildlife and timber, combating climate change and
air pollution through the development of advanced technology and
clean energy and finding solutions to problems relating to water
pollution. The talks also explored ways the countries could
cooperate in the Commission on Sustainable Development and they
discussed the newly-formed Coalition Against Wildlife
Trafficking.
The humanitarian assistance and international development
sections concentrated on the tools, resources, challenges and
experiences of dealing with humanitarian crisis, UN reform, aid
financing mechanisms and effectiveness, managing results, the
governance structure for international development cooperation and
potential areas for further collaboration.
The session on people trafficking focused on ways to combat this
transnational criminal activity particularly through cooperation in
regional and multilateral forums. The importance of protection for
victims of trafficking, prosecution of those involved and
prevention campaigns were all highlighted.
Discussion of public health issues included experiences with
avian flu and malaria, international cooperation to enhance
surveillance, prevention and control of infectious diseases and
policy and technical tools to combat disease outbreaks.?
The two governments agreed to continue their dialogue on these
and other issues, to review progress and determine future
activities.
The first session of the forum was held in 2005 in Washington.
The objective of the forum is to strengthen current cooperation
between China and the US on global issues and to explore new
avenues for joint initiatives on a world basis.
(Xinhua News Agency August 11, 2006)