The US and China have begun a series of high-level meetings trying to map out the two powers' future relations on the world stage.
Robert Zoellick, the US State Department's No. 2 official, and China's Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo (
Relations between the US and China have been tense of late as US critics slammed China's military buildup and its human rights record.
When US President George W. Bush visited Chinese President Hu Jintao (
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has complained about a lack of progress on a months-old US request for action by China on specific human rights cases.
Tensions also flared this week, when the State Department said that the US believes "the people of Hong Kong are ready for democracy, and that the sooner that a timetable for achieving universal suffrage is established, the better."
Beijing bluntly told Washington to stay out of the Chinese territory's affairs.
The US, Ereli said, wants this week's meetings between Zoellick and Dai to avoid "being prescriptive -- `We want you to do this; we don't want you to do that.'"
Instead, he said, they provide a chance to show that the two countries "have a shared interest in discussing and coordinating and working together on common issues."
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