Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai (right) meets United States Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell in Honolulu on Saturday. The meeting was a result of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in May. Zhang Jun / Xinhua

HONOLULU - China and the United States held their first round of talks on the Asia-Pacific region on Saturday, which was hailed by both sides as positive and beneficial.

The one-day closed-door gathering was led by Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.

Calling the meeting "friendly, candid and constructive", Cui said it was the results of the third round of the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held in May to implement the consensus reached by President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart, President Barack Obama, during Hu's visit to the US in January.

The two sides praised the progress made in bilateral ties since Hu's visit, stressing that they would continue to boost China-US cooperative partnership as envisioned by the two heads of state, Cui told reporters after the talks.

They also had in-depth exchange of views on the general situation of the Asia-Pacific region, their respective policies on the region and issues of common concern, Cui said.

The two sides agreed to use the meeting as a way to keep close contacts and coordination on respective policies to advance bilateral cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and play an active role in safeguarding regional peace, stability and prosperity, he added.

Campbell, for his part, said he held "open and frank" discussions with his Chinese counterpart, with the goal of "attaining better understanding of each other's intentions, policies and actions toward the Asia-Pacific region".

"The United States reiterated that it welcomes a strong, prosperous and successful China to play a greater role in regional and world affairs," Campbell said in a news conference after the meeting.

The two sides also discussed each other's objectives at a series of upcoming meetings, including the ASEAN regional forum, APEC leaders meeting to be held in Hawaii, the Pacific Islands Forum and East Asian Summit, Campbell added.

It was also agreed that the next round of China-US consultations on Asia-Pacific will be held "at a mutually convenient time".

Established during the third round of the S&ED on May 9-10 in Washington, the China-US meeting on Asia-Pacific was an important step to materialize the achievements of Hu's US tour in January as well as the consensus reached between the two countries at the latest round of the S&ED.

The gathering is expected to help usher in a pattern of positive interaction between China and the US in the Asia-Pacific region so that the two countries can cooperate better to boost the region's stability and development.

Xinhua