Sino-US relationship priority for both sides

US: The US-China relationship "is a priority for both countries" and both sides aim to build confidence through the upcoming Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), a US expert on international relations told Xinhua in an interview on Friday.

"The S&ED will ... make it clear that the U.S.-China relationship is a priority for both countries," said Taiya Smith, a researcher at the Washington-based think-tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"This first round of the new dialogue needs to focus on building relationship between our two countries' governments," said Smith, who had been Deputy Chief of Staff to former US Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson. Paulson successfully launched five rounds of similar dialogues.

She said that "it also needs to sort out the process for the dialogue. Once the organizers learn how to work together, they will be more able to focus on results from the discussions."

Washington, Sunday, Xinhua