U.S., China commence high-stakes business conference

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The United States and China must increase their cooperation on energy issues in the face of increased demand and record high oil prices, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday as he opened a meeting of high-level economic officials from the two countries.

The session, the fourth in a series, was held on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy. The Chinese team was being led by a newcomer, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who took over after the retirement earlier this year of former Vice Premier Wu Yi.

"As the two largest net importers of oil, China and the United States face similar challenges as demand for energy increases," Paulson told the conference.

It was Paulson's fourth time to head a U.S. delegation of Cabinet officials in such a conference. The Chinese team was being led by a newcomer, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who took over after the retirement earlier this year of former Vice Premier Wu Yi.

In his opening remarks, Wang said that substantial progress had been made in dealing with contentious issues such as currency and the trade deficit and he urged patience going forward. He also said the two countries needed to avoid "complicating and politicizing economic issues."

"Our cooperation is an irreversible and unstoppable current," Wang said. "China needs the United States and the United States needs China."

Paulson led a large U.S. delegation that included a number of Cabinet secretaries including Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.

Paulson came up with the idea for the high-level talks, dubbed the Strategic Economic Dialogue, when he joined the Bush administration in 2006 after leading investment giant Goldman Sachs.

However, hopes that the discussions could produce significant results on a number of contentious trade disputes have not been fulfilled. Paulson, who is hoping that the discussions will be continued by the next administration, said Tuesday that they had produced more results than could have been accomplished absent the twice-a-year meetings. He said it was important for the global economy that the two nations continue talking.

"The United States and China don't always agree on economic issues," he said. "Sometimes we may disagree quite strongly, but we keep talking."