Hu, Obama pledge to work jointly on global issues

President Hu Jintao has praised US president-elect Barack Obama for emphasizing the importance of China-US relations and calling for strengthening bilateral cooperation to meet global challenges.

In a conversation over the phone on Saturday, the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and major international issues of common concern.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries were established 30 years ago, Hu said, and since then bilateral relations have developed strongly despite some setbacks.