May 23, 2007
HP-416

Closing Statement by Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. at the May
2007 Meeting of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue

Washington, DC – Thank you, Vice Premier Wu Yi and your distinguished colleagues for a very productive two days. My colleagues and I have been impressed by, and grateful for, the openness and positive spirit you brought to this meeting of the Strategic Economic Dialogue.

Over the last five months, China and the United States have come together to discuss our shared economic interests with mutual respect. We agree on many issues. We agree that it is vital to the prosperity of both our nations, that China rebalance its economic growth, encourage consumption and spread development more broadly among its people. We agree that by combining the power of our economies, we can spur further development of clean energy technology. We agree that strengthening and deepening our two-way trading relationship will create jobs and give our citizens a wider variety of choices and lower prices on goods.

While we have much more work to do, we have tangible results for our efforts thus far. These results are like signposts on the long- term strategic road, building confidence and encouraging us to continue moving forward together.

The United States and China understand that getting our economic relationship right is vital not only to our people, but to the world economy. Vice Premier Wu and I see an important part of our job is to communicate frequently, iron out differences, and keep the economic relationship on an even keel, even during times of tension. Our relationship works best when it produces mutual benefits, which lead to growth, balance and a stronger global economy.

We agreed today on a wide variety of next steps, including significant items in financial services, energy and the environment, and civil aviation. The dialogue will continue; our cooperative spirit will continue as well. At our next meeting, we will focus on capturing the benefits and managing the challenges of global economic integration.

We have built strong relationships since our inaugural meeting in Beijing. Those relationships will continue to grow stronger and produce on-going returns. On behalf of the American delegation, thank you for coming and we look forward to returning to China later this year.