[Title] Remarks at U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue Strategic Track Plenary Session One （By Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton）

SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon. We are delighted to have this expanded meeting on a number of critical issues, and it is, for us, an opportunity to continue deepening and broadening the very cooperative, comprehensive efforts that we’ve undertaken in these Strategic and Economic Dialogues. We want to sustain momentum from the work and direction of our two presidents, and we have a lot of ground to cover this afternoon.

I think it’s important to highlight the issues that we will be discussing – climate change, where we greatly appreciate the work we have done together and how we must build on the Cancun agreements reached last December to demonstrate the progress we can make when we proceed in a determined, pragmatic manner with each of us showing leadership and moving beyond ideology. We want to follow through on the Green Fund that was agreed to in Cancun, set up a climate change technology center and network, and write the guidelines for a new regime of transparency and accountability. If the United States and China can work together, then we can make a giant step toward fulfilling the agenda and making the next UN climate meeting in Durban, South Africa a success.

We also, when it comes to energy, have many reasons to cooperate and many opportunities as well. Our policy decisions and practices as the two largest producers and consumers of energy in the world have major impacts on world markets. We’ve achieved substantial progress on the seven new U.S.-China clean energy initiatives started during President Obama’s visit to Beijing in November 2009, including the Electric Vehicles Initiative, the Energy Efficiency Action Plan, and the Shale Gas Resource Initiative, and we’ve achieved real progress at the most recent meeting in April of the Ten Year Framework on Energy and Environmental Cooperation.

I think that the policy choices which we have made on critical energy security issues, including promoting open and efficient markets and dealing with potential oil supply emergencies and the safe expansion of nuclear energy, are especially timely for us to address. We believe on the American side that it is our shared responsibility during this dialogue to work toward creating the roadmap that our respective governments will use to continue building on solutions that give real specificity to the positive, cooperative, and comprehensive relationship that our two presidents have directed us to pursue.

Let me now invite State Councilor Dai to make some brief opening remarks, and then we will move to the first subject to be addressed.