On the afternoon of March 20, 2013, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met with U.S. President's Special Representative and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai.

Li said that the two nations are both at a pivotal stage for setting a new course for the future, and therefore, they should promote a cooperative partnership featuring mutual respect and mutual benefit according to the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries. Both sides should look at each other with innovative thinking and from a strategic, comprehensive and long-term perspective rather than get entangled with or stick to specific problems. Many issues that used to trouble China-U.S. relations were resolved through the development of bilateral ties, and it will be the same case in the future, Li said. The Chinese government will, as always, attach importance to Sino-U.S. relations, and is ready to work with the United States to promote healthy and stable development of the ties in cooperation, tolerance and competition.

Given the weakness of the world economic recovery, Li called on the international community to actively work together to make handling economic issues a priority. As major world economic powers, China and the United States have great influence over the recovery process of the world economy, China and the United States should increase their mutual trust and expand common interests so that they can outweigh the differences between the two sides. More favorable conditions should be created for cooperation in different fields and concerted efforts should be endeavored to build a new type of relationship between the two big nations and upgrade China-U.S. cooperation to a new level.

Lew said the U.S. wants to maintain dialogue with China and step up cooperation in various sectors via mechanisms like the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. The U.S. is also willing to strengthen coordination and communication with China through bilateral and multilateral frameworks in setting up international rules, enhance its cooperation with China on international issues such as climate change and welcome the investment of Chinese companies.

The two sides also exchanged views on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, the European debt crisis, the world economy and global governance.

Finance Minister Lou Jiwei and Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui attended the meeting.