EXPANDING COOPERATION

This year's S&ED and CPE talks came amid a few hiccups in China-U.S. relations due to the rift over the South China Sea and cyber security, and had therefore drawn worldwide attention as people were curious to see how the two great global powers would manage their disputes.

However, starting on the opening ceremony on Tuesday, both sides had reaffirmed their commitment to continuing cooperation and controlling divergences.

In his opening speech, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said the United States, instead of fearing China's rise, wants to see the Asian giant rise peacefully as it could be a significant asset for the region and the whole world. Biden added that whenever possible, China should be included at the table of writing the rules.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, who headed the Chinese CPE team, also said that faced with the current complicated and volatile international situation, the two countries should and could work together on a wide range of issues.

With commitments and confidence from both sides to overcome differences and continue cooperation, impressive achievements have been made during this year's consultations.

During this year's talks, China and the United States discussed some new cooperation areas for the first time.

Officials from both countries held a special session on ocean protection under the framework of the seventh round of the S&ED, stressed their commitments to a conservation-minded approach to the ocean, and agreed to make joint efforts to explore opportunities for boosting such cooperation.

The efforts will involve these measures: to promote maritime research, development, maintenance and protection, to expand cooperation between maritime enforcement agencies from both countries, to combat illegal and unregulated fishing, etc.

At a joint press conference with Kerry on Wednesday, Yang expressed the hope that China and the United States will, based on the progress achieved, turn ocean protection into a new area of growing bilateral cooperation.

For his part, Kerry pledged that the United States would work together with China to strengthen cooperation in areas of ocean protection and sustainable maritime development.