Li: China wants non-nuclear peninsula

Premier Li Keqiang met with US President Barack Obama and clarified China's position on the Korean nuclear issue on Monday, saying that China is adhering to the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Li said China is committed to maintaining the peninsular peace and stability and solving the question through peaceful dialogue.

Li, in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said China agreed on a further response from the UN Security Council on North Korea's Sept 9 nuclear test, but said all parties should avoid taking action that could lead to heightened tensions.

The two leaders had an in-depth exchange of views on China-US relations and major international and regional issues.

Obama said that a strong China-US relationship contributes to world peace and stability. The US side hopes that the China-US relationship could have vigorous and sustainable development. He said he greatly appreciated the cooperation between the two countries on international and regional issues.

Obama reiterated that the US government will stick to its one-China policy.

Li said closer China-US cooperation not only serves the fundamental interests of two countries and peoples but also complies with the aspirations of the international community.

He said that economic and trade cooperation is the ballast and propeller of the bilateral relationship. The two sides should move ahead the US-China Bilateral Investment Treaty Negotiations, expand mutual market access, provide a better business environment and increase expectations of interactions.

The two sides should properly handle trade friction, Li said, adding that he hopes that the US government could relax restrictions on technology exports to China.

The two leaders agreed to continue efforts to narrow differences and expand practical cooperation on regional and global challenges in order to maintain sound development in the bilateral relationship, according to the White House statement.

"The cooperation framework (between US and China) is very important. There is always more that the US and China could do to jointly provide international public good," said Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington. "There is a lot of potential there that needs to be explored. But we cannot ignore the fact that there is a security dilemma in the West Pacific that both sides are concerned about."

"I believe the most important relationship in the 21st century is the one between the US and China, driven principally by the fact that the two (are the) biggest economies in the world. We have to figure out how to make this work," said Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007-2011 under presidents George W. Bush and Obama.

"If this region destabilizes, our economies go bad, very, very quickly," he said. "It's got four of the five largest economies in the world in this region. That's compelling motivation to try to get this right."

Chen Weihua in Washington contributed to this story.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com