WASHINGTON - China and the United States on Tuesday agreed to further enhance their cultural ties as they wrapped up a two-day high-level annual Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE) in Washington.

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At the second annual high-level CPE meeting co-chaired by visiting Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department, in which they both hailed the importance of people-to-people engagement, a number of successful cultural programs over the past year were celebrated and upcoming exchanges examined as a means to further enhance cultural ties.

In 2012, the US government will support a number of performing and visual arts programs to connect with young Chinese audiences outside of major urban areas.

DanceMotion USA will send a contemporary dance company - the Trey McIntyre Project - to China for a series of performances, workshops, master classes, and stage and arts management sessions, while the visual arts program "smARTpower" intends to send an American artist to collaborate with Chinese youth and local artists in the creation of community-based projects, the State Department said in a press release.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) hosted the second US-China Cultural Forum at the University of California, Berkley on October 15-16, 2010.

The forum provided important opportunities for US and Chinese humanities scholars to cooperate, and NEH extended its agreement with the Chinese Ministry of Culture to continue the forum for five more years, the press release said.

Programs supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Smithsonian Institution and the American Association of Museums are facilitating the sharing of information and best practices between US and Chinese museum and library management professionals, it said.

The State Department encourages US private-sector organizations to share the best of US culture and society with Chinese audiences, the press release said, noting that a number of organizations made presentations at the CPE, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rodeo China, the American Council of Young Political Leaders, the Ivy Council and Asia Society.

The department described China as "a major focus of interest for US artists and arts professionals as well as organizations that carry out exchanges for young leaders designed to enhance cross-cultural understanding."

China and the United States launched CPE and held its first meeting in May 2010 in Beijing to enhance and strengthen ties between their citizens in the areas of women's issues, education, culture, sports, and science and technology.