The first round of consultations on Asia-Pacific held in Honolulu between China and the United States was hailed by both sides as beneficial, Xinhua reported.  

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai (R) and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell shake hands during the first round of consultations on Asia-Pacific in Hawaii, the United States, June 25, 2011. China and the United States held their first round of consultations on Asia-Pacific here on Saturday, which were hailed by both sides as positive and beneficial. [Zhang Jun/Xinhua]

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell jointly chaired the one-day closed-door consultations on Saturday.

Both sides exchanged views on the general situation of the Asia-Pacific, their respective policies on the region and regional issues of common concern, Cui said. 

The two sides hailed the progress made in bilateral ties since President Hu's visit to the United States, stressing that they would continue to boost China-U.S. cooperative partnership as agreed by the two heads of state, Cui told reporters after the talks.

Both sides believed that currently the situation in the Asia Pacific region is generally stable. Economy continues to grow with vigor and vitality and countries in this region have deepened their mutual interdependence, said Cui.

The two sides agreed to use the consultation mechanism as a platform to keep close contacts and strengthen coordination on the situation in the Asia Pacific region and their respective policies to promote bilateral cooperation in this region and to play an active role in safeguarding peace, stability and prosperity in this region, he added. 

Campbell said he held "open and frank" discussions with his Chinese counterpart, with the goal of "attaining better understanding of each other's intentions, policies and actions toward the Asia-Pacific region."

"The United States reiterated that it welcomes a strong, prosperous and successful China to play a greater role in regional and world affairs," Campbell told a news briefing after the consultation. 

It was also agreed that the next round of China-U.S. consultations on Asia-Pacific will be held "at a mutually convenient time."

Established during the third round of the S&ED on May 9-10 in Washington, the mechanism of China-U.S. consultations on Asia-Pacific was an important step to materialize the achievements of President Hu's U.S. tour in January as well as the consensus reached between the two countries at the latest round of the S&ED.

The creation of the mechanism would help usher in a pattern of positive interaction between China and the United States in the Asia-Pacific region so that the two countries could cooperate better to boost the region's stability and development.