Speaking for the Chinese delegation, Vice Premier Wang promised continued 'intensive dialogue ... to tackle the (global) financial crisis'.

'Mankind's pursuit of... progress never ceases,' he said. 'I'm confident this crisis will finally be over.'

In a joint op-ed article in Monday's Wall Street Journal, Clinton and Geithner said the two-day meeting should help 'develop a new framework for US-China relations'.

'Few global problems can be solved by the US or China alone. And few can be solved without the US and China together,' they said. Those problems include the global economy, the health of the global environment, the stability of fragile states and the solution to non-proliferation challenges.

On the economy, Clinton and Geithner praised the United States and China for taking 'bold steps' to deal with the global economic crisis.

On security issues, they highlighted the 'provocative actions of North Korea', stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and economic possibilities in Africa.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)