Chinese President Hu, US Secretary of State Clinton meet

Chinese President Hu Jintao conferred here Friday with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the sidelines of the two-day US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, but no details were issued about the meeting, reported the chinese Xinhua news agency today . It is noted that the two countries reviewed the status of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who has said that we wants to go to the United States. Diplomatic fallout from the Chen case has overshadowed the dialogue in Beijing. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are leading the US delegation at the dialogue about finance, economic policies and security issues. Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo led the Chinese side. Chen, 40, who fled house arrest in his village in Shandong province in eastern China, took refuge in the US embassy before agreeing to leave on Wednesday, saying he wanted to remain in China. He reversed himself on Thursday, saying he had been coerced by Chinese officials' threats to his family and that he wanted to leave the country. Chinese and US officials, including Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, have been in talks over Chen's status. Washington was talking to Chen and "endeavouring to clarify whether his position has changed and what he now wants," a senior US official said Thursday in Beijing.Guangcheng, known for opposing China's one-child policy, told a US congressional hearing Thursday by mobile telephone that he wanted to leave China with his family and hoped to meet with Clinton during her Beijing visit: "I hope I can get more help from her."  Chen remained in a Beijing hospital, where he was taken by US diplomats after leaving the embassy.