US, China end talks on N.Korea, Iran, Darfur

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Senior US and Chinese diplomats ended two days of talks Thursday that included the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues, the Darfur crisis, energy security and climate change. The twice yearly dialogue, led by US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte and China's executive vice foreign minister Dai Bingguoo, also touched on human rights and the Taiwan question, according to a statement from the State Department. "The constructive and frank talks focused on building mutual trust between the United States and China," it said, adding that the two leaders "covered a wide range of key bilateral, regional and global issues." Dai is scheduled to hold talks with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday. The State Department said the talks "included the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, curbing Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons capability, the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and peace and security in Northeast Asia." They also discussed "combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction" and "the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." Details of the discussions were not provided. The meeting was held amid stepped-up diplomacy, led by China's chairing of multilateral talks, to end North Korea's nuclear weapons drive. US negotiator Christopher Hill made a surprise visit to North Korea Thursday to underline the need for North Korea to fulfill its part of a February deal clinched at six-party talks to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. This dialogue mechanism, which is built in accordance with the consensus reached in 2004 between Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush, is an important platform for the two countries to communicate on strategic and political level. The previous dialogue was held in Beijing in November last year.