On July 29, 2009, Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo attended a breakfast meeting hosed by a group of U.S. senators including John Kerry, chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Richard Lugar, ranking minority member of the committee, in Washington.

During the meeting, Dai said that President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama reached important consensus on joint efforts for a positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century, which is an accurate positioning of China-U.S. relations in the new period and charts the direction for the further development of bilateral ties. Dai said China and the United States, as the largest developing and developed countries in the world, shoulder important responsibilities and have broad common interests on a range of major issues concerning peace and development of mankind. "Increased cooperation between China and the United States not only serves the common interests of the two countries and their peoples, but contributes to peace, stability and prosperity of the world," he added. The China-U.S. relations are at a new historic point and facing new opportunities, said Dai. China is ready to work with the U.S. to continue earnestly implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, seize the opportunity, enhance dialogue, exchanges and cooperation and properly handle differences so as to push for the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship.

Dai said to establish the mechanism of China-U.S. strategic and economic dialogue is an important decision made by the two heads of state according to the new features in the current international situation and the new development of China-U.S. relations and it is also a significant move aimed to push forward bilateral ties in the new period. During the just-concluded dialogue, both sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the strategic, long-term and overarching issues, and achieved a few important common grounds. Dai called for joint efforts of both sides to implement the outcomes of the dialogue and push for healthy, stable development of bilateral ties.

Kerry said now U.S.-China relations are more important than any time in the past. To further build U.S.-China partnership will have far-reaching impact on the development process of the world in the 21st century. The U.S.-China strategic and economic dialogue is crucial to the development of bilateral ties.

Lugar said the U.S. and China will usher in a new era for cooperation. Both sides should deepen mutual understanding, conduct in-depth discussions and cooperation on climate change and other global issues and turn the outcome of the dialogue into practice for the benefit of both peoples.