Both China and the United States have attached great importance to the first ever China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), which kicked off on a high note in the US capital on Monday.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama have pinned high hopes on the July 27-28 dialogue, a mechanism upgraded from the previous Strategic Dialogue and biannual Strategic Economic Dialogue initiated in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

President Hu sent a congratulatory letter to the S&ED, which was read at the opening ceremony by his special representative, Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan. Wang and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, both co-chairing the dialogue on behalf of the Chinese president, are leading a large delegation of some 150 senior officials, 24 of them at or above the ministerial level.

Hu said in his message that both countries shoulder important responsibilities on a host of major issues concerning peace and development of mankind, adding that in the face of the complex and changing international economic and political situation, China and the United States should endeavor to expand common ground, reduce differences, enhance mutual trust and strengthen cooperation through the strategic and economic dialogue.

"This serves the common interest of the two sides and will help advance the positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship between our two countries," said the Chinese leader.

"It is also of great importance for peace, stability, development and prosperity of the whole world," he added.

"I am confident that with the concerted efforts of both teams, the S&ED mechanism will keep improving and growing and inject new dynamism and make new contribution to our mutually beneficiary cooperation in various areas and to the growth of our positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship," said Hu.

President Obama addressed the dialogue's opening in person, elaborating on an array of issues, ranging from the financial crisis, security and climate change. He also stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries.

He hailed the dialogue as an "essential step forward in advancing a positive, constructive, and comprehensive relationship" between the two countries.

"Our countries have now shared relations for longer than we were estranged. Our people interact in so many ways. And I believe that we are poised to make steady progress on some of the most important issues of our times," he said.

Obama said no nation can meet the challenges of the 21st century on its own, which "only makes US-China dialogue more important."

The US side also gave unprecedented priority the dialogue, the first of its kind under the Obama administration. Twelve officials at or above the ministerial level, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner who are co-chairing the dialogue for the American side, were involved in the dialogue.

'Same boat' theory

It is widely noticed that Clinton has time and again preached the "same boat" theory while making important remarks on US-China relations on various occasions.

In a joint letter to The Wall Street Journal published on Monday, Clinton and Geithner stressed the importance of the dialogue, saying "few global problems can be solved by the US or China alone. And few can be solved without the US and China together."

"The strength of the global economy, the health of the global environment, the stability of fragile states and the solution to nonproliferation challenges turn in large measure on cooperation between the US and China," said the two key cabinet members in the letter.

"But having these strategic-level discussions with our Chinese counterparts will help build the trust and relationships to tackle the most vexing global challenges of today -- and of the coming generation," says the letter.

The top US diplomat and top financial official cited the Chinese aphorism "When you are in a common boat, you need to cross the river peacefully together" to express their hope of strengthening cooperation between the two countries. China has now become Washington's single biggest creditor, with US$801.5 billion in Treasury securities, according to the US Treasury Department.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Geithner echoed Clinton's "same boat" theory by speaking in Mandarin Chinese "Tong Zhou Gong Ji," the Chinese phrase for "the same boat" theory, and expressed hope that both sides could work together to tackle tough global issues.