Chinese councilor and US national security adviser meet on ties

Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong met U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon here on Monday and both sides called for further development of bilateral relations. China-U.S. relations have come to an important juncture that links the past and the future, said Liu, who attended the inauguration ceremony of South Korean President Park Geun-hye as a special envoy of Chinese President Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. The Chinese government, which always attaches importance to its relations with the United States, will maintain a stable policy toward the country, she said. Liu added that China, with the aim of building a cooperative partnership and exploring a new relationship between the two major powers, is ready to work with the U.S. side to implement consensus reached by their leaders, strengthen dialogue, mutual trust and cooperation, and effectively manage divergences and sensitive issues, so as to push for a good start and greater progress for bilateral ties in the new period. She said that since the beginning of this year, China-U.S. people-people and cultural exchanges had shown a sound momentum with a number of innovations, injecting a huge amount of "positive energy" into bilateral relations. Both sides, based on a principle oriented to the future, the world and the people, should further tap potentials and propel people-people and cultural exchanges to a new level. Donilon spoke highly of the development of U.S.-China relations over the past four years. He said the two countries' leaders had kept close contact and both sides had set up an effective, constructive mechanism of communication. The United States and China had also deepened mutual understanding, properly handled differences, and achieved positive results in cooperation in various fields, he added. The U.S. side will maintain the continuity of its China policy and work with the Chinese side to continue to inject new vitality into cooperation between the two countries, so as to push forward their relations, said Donilon, who is also here to attend Park's inauguration ceremony.