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BEIJING: The United States and China begin high-level talks in Beijing on Monday with the two sides hoping to build on a recent thaw even as they take up highly contentious trade and other issues.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury chief Timothy Geithner open their annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue with their counterparts Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councillor Dai Bingguo at 10:45 am (0245 GMT).
Topping the agenda of the two-day talks will be Korean tensions after a multinational panel on Thursday blamed a North Korean submarine for torpedoing the South Korean navy corvette Cheonan in March, killing 46 sailors.
Clinton was expected to seek Beijing's cooperation in backing a response against North Korea, which is heavily dependent on trade and diplomatic support from China, its neighbour and closest ally.
In Tokyo on Friday, Clinton said it was "important to send a clear message to North Korea that provocative actions have consequences".
Beijing, whose support for a UN Security Council action against Pyongyang is key due to its status as one of the five veto-wielding council members, has urged restraint.
Tensions have spiked after the Cheonan probe came out, with South Korea planning to seek action by the UN Security Council and Pyongyang threatening "all-out war" if punitive steps are taken.
Pressure was expected to mount on China to support new UN sanctions on Pyongyang, or at least not veto any.
Clinton has briefed Dai on the inquiry into the sinking, a senior US official said late Sunday.
"We've shared with them some specific information" during a dinner ahead of the dialogue, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Clinton also told Dai the substance of a statement due to be made by South Korean leader Lee Myung-Bak, and said Washington would back all measures announced.
"Beijing has cautioned against hasty conclusions after the incident but now has to take a position," said Jing-dong Yuan, a non-proliferation expert at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California.
The United States and China will also take up prickly trade issues including US calls for reform of the yuan currency and several recent tit-for-tat trade actions taken by the world's number one and three economies against each other.
Accusations also have been mounting that China was skewing its trade and investment climate in favour of domestic companies.
Clinton called on Sunday for China to ensure a more level playing field.
"For trade to work in any economy and for it to produce the benefits we know it can, there must be a level playing field where domestic and international companies can compete freely and openly," she said.
She also said Washington would "encourage a more balanced economic relationship between the United States and China".
Relations between Washington and Beijing have improved recently after a rocky patch earlier in the year over US arms sales to Taiwan, Obama's White House meeting with the Dalai Lama, Internet freedom and trade disputes.
In an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television, parts of which were broadcast late Sunday, Clinton said the two powers should work to tighten their relationship.
"It's strong but it can be stronger," she said.
Reflecting the importance of the high-level gathering, Clinton said the more than 200-strong US delegation was "I think, the largest group of American government officials ever to come to a meeting anywhere in the world". - AFP/fa
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