New York - Presidents Barack Obama of the United States and Hu Jintao of China on Tuesday pledged to work closely to strengthen the two countries' relationship. The two leaders met at the Waldorf Astoria hotel on the sidelines of the climate change summit organized by the United Nations in the General Assembly in New York. They represent the world's two largest economies, but their countries are also the largest emitters of carbon dioxide that is blamed for the rise in atmospheric temperatures.
Obama, who is scheduled to visit China in November, said he has committed himself to pursuing a "genuinely cooperative and comprehensive relationship with China."
"We need to make our relationship more dynamic and effective, given the strong number of common global and regional challenges that our countries face," Obama said.
Hu said strong US-Chinese ties serve not only the "fundamental interest" of two countries, but also contribute to peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia Pacific region and the world.
"The Chinese side is willing to work with the US to keep our bilateral relationship firmly along the right course and deepen our pragmatic cooperation in a wife range of areas," Hu said.
"The Chinese side is also willing to work with the US to properly handle sensitive issues to ensure that our relationship will continue to grow on a sound and steady course," he said.
Both Obama and Hu were attending the UN General Assembly meetings in New York for the first time.
