Belief and courage required for Sino-US ties

　　President Jiang Zemin said that a steady developmen t of China-US relations requires "firm belief and coura ge"of leaders and governments of both countries.

　　Jiang made the remark in a meeting with US Presiden t Bill Clinton on the sideline of the 8th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) informal leadership meeting on November 16 im Bandar Seri Bagewan.

　　No matter what difficulties existed in past relatio ns between the two countries, he said, leaders should h ave the courage to face the challenge and remove all di sturbances so as to take firm hold on the main course o f bilateral ties.

　　Jiang appreciated the efforts made by President Cli nton in improving and developing China-US ties and hope d that he would continue to care and support its develo pment.

　　"Eight years ago when we first met in Seattle, we p roposed making efforts to bring a stable and healthy Ch ina-US relationship into the 21st century," he said.

　　Now Chia-US ties are stepping forward with importan t and positive progress following various challenges in the past years, he said.

　　The growth of such ties demonstrate that a healthy and stable cooperative relationship between China and t he United States, two powers with great influence on th e rest of the world, is in the interests of both people s and the world, Jiang added.

　　Clinton also extended his gratitud to Jiang for his cooperation during the past eight years, saying that wh enever a difficult situation emerged, both of them have stood up to overcome it.

　　A strong, stable and prosperous China that plays an active role in Asia and the world is of great significa nce to the United States, he added.

　　Clinton, who will leave the White House early next year, said he is satisfied that the two powers have com e closer within his tenure and wishes that the two nati ons will have a relationship of cooperation instead of conflict and containment in the future.

　　All differences can not be avoided, but they can be ironed out through dialogue, Clinton said.

　　The two heads of state also talked about China's ac cession to the World Trade Organization and other issue s of common concern.