U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi will meet in Washington next month to work out details for talks between
the presidents of their two countries in April.
Clinton met with Chinese President Hu
Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao Saturday in Beijing, the last stop on her tour of
four Asian countries.
The meeting followed talks with Yang which focused
on working more closely on climate change, security and addressing the global
financial crisis.
They also laid the groundwork for a meeting between Mr.
Hu and U.S. President Barack Obama during the upcoming summit of G-20 nations in
London in April. It would be the first meeting between the two
leaders.
After her meeting with Yang, Clinton made it clear that the
Obama administration seeks to forge good relations with China.
She also
said China and the U.S. are resuming military exchanges that were suspended last
October when the Bush administration notified Congress of its plans to sell
nearly $7 billion worth of arms to Taiwan.
Clinton went on to say she
appreciates China's continued confidence in U.S. Treasury bonds. China is the
largest holder of U.S. Treasury bonds.
Ahead of her talks, she said the
debate with China over human rights should not get in the way of progress in
other areas.
Amnesty International said it was disappointed that Clinton
would not make human rights a priority in her diplomatic engagement with China.
Human Rights Watch called Clinton's remarks a strategic mistake.
Clinton
said she would not shy away from such questions, but added that U.S. officials
more or less know what China is going to say.
Beijing is Clinton's last
stop on her first overseas trip as the top U.S. diplomat.
On Sunday, she
will attend church services in China and meet with women and civil society
leaders, then head back to Washington.
Clinton's trip has already taken
her to Japan, Indonesia and South Korea.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.