Ultimate

China and the United States pledge to further regular parliamentary exchanges and cooperation at all levels in Beijing Thursday.

Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo and Dennis Hastert, speaker of the US House of Representatives held talks and agreed to promote mutual understanding and political trust between the two countries through pushing forward parliamentary exchanges.

Wu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said the regular exchange mechanism has progressed smoothly between the NPC and the US congress, and played a positive role in promoting Sino-US relations in a healthy and stable way.

Wu said the current Sino-US relationship has been developing steadily, and the common grounds reached by the two heads of states are gradually implemented, and the two countries cooperate well on trade, anti-terrorism, and the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

"China and the US have enjoyed common interests and a foundation for cooperation although differences exist," he said.

He stressed China would like to work with the US to view bilateral relations from the strategic perspective, promote dialogue and political trust and reduce differences, so as to push forward Sino-US relations.

On the Taiwan issue, Wu said, China appreciates the adherence of the Bush administration to the one-China policy, and its observance to the three Sino-US joint communiques, as well as its opposition to "Taiwan Independence".

He hoped that the US congress would do more to help improve the relations across the Taiwan Straits and China's peaceful reunification, not sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan Independence" separatists.

Wu said China will stick to the road of peaceful development, and is committed to its independent foreign policy of peace, and would like to work with the US to promote regional and world peace, stability and prosperity.

Hastert said US-China relations have made great progress in recent years, and the two sides should make joint efforts to expand common interests and the foundation for cooperation.

He hoped the NPC and the US House of Representatives would enhance dialogue under a regular exchange mechanism.

He reaffirmed the US would adhere to the one-China policy, and welcomed the new progress in the relationship across the Taiwan Straits.