Chinese president meets U.S. Secretary of State

President Hu Jintao met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday morning.

Hu recalled Clinton's last seven visits to China as the U.S. Secretary of State, including four visits for the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SED) and another three for the High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchanges.

Hu commended Clinton's efforts in promoting the construction of the U.S. Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo and the program for U.S. students to study in China.

Hu also expressed appreciation of Clinton's efforts to push forward relations between the two countries.

Clinton said that over the past three and a half years, there has been a great deal of cooperation and consultation between the United States and China, including a meeting between President Hu Jintao and President Obama at the G20 summit in Mexico.

"We appreciate the in-depth and involvement that the SED has achieved," she said.

Both sides have been able to explore areas of agreement and disagreement in an open manner, which demonstrates the maturity of their relationship, she said.

Clinton is currently on her second China trip of the year. In May, she attended the fourth round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue as special representative of President Barack Obama.

The visit is also part of Clinton's ongoing six-nation tour, which started on Aug. 30 and will also take her to the Cook Islands, Indonesia, East Timor, Brunei and Russia.