Chinese Premier meets former US Treasury Secretary

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) meets with former U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Beijing, capital of China, April 29, 2014. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with former US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in Beijing on Tuesday for closer economic ties.

Li said it will bring benefit to the two countries to develop bilateral relations on the principle of non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

He briefed the US guests on the relationship between China's reform and economic growth, noting that tremendous economic development resulted from reform.

China is a developing country and enjoys great potential for economic growth but faces challenges including uneven development between urban and rural areas, lack of natural resources and environmental pollution, Li said.

He pointed out that China needs to address the challenges through reform to maintain stable and healthy development of the economy.

He is confident that China's deepening reform in a comprehensive way and further opening up will broaden the scope for China-US Economic and trade development.

Geithner said he believes that China will make further progress with its own competitiveness

The US and China should strengthen communication and cooperation for closer bilateral ties, he said, adding that he will make more efforts in advancing the development of their relations.