Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Egyptian Red Sea Resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on May 2, 2007. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, May 4 (Xinhua) -- New Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at this Egyptian Red Sea resort on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq, the Chinese foreign ministry said Friday in a press release.

    Yang told Rice that the Chinese side will, along with the U.S. side, continued to implement the important consensus reached by Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush during Hu's visit to Washington last year.

    Yang said China, as a stakeholder and a constructive partner, was willing to maintain high-level exchange and contact, enhance strategic dialogue, increase trust with each other and expand cooperation with the U.S., thus enabling Sino-U.S. constructive partnership to achieve new progress continuously.

    Rice said development of U.S.-Sino relations was good and the U.S. side hoped to enhance dialogue and cooperation with China in broad fields.

    Yang stressed that a health and stable development of U.S.-Sino relations hinged on a proper handling of the Taiwan question by the U.S. side.

    Yang expressed hopes that the U.S. side made joint efforts with China to reject and fight "Taiwan's independence" and safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, which was in conformity with common interest of both nations.

    Rice reiterated that the U.S. side sticks to the one-China policy.

    The two foreign ministers also exchanged their views on other regional and international issues of common interest. Yang, named Chinese foreign minister on April 27, arrived at this resort on Wednesday afternoon.

    The two-day conference, ended on Friday afternoon, included two meetings -- one on Iraq's reconstruction and the other on Iraq's security.

    The conference gathered senior diplomats from Iraq's six neighbors -- Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait -- plus Bahrain, Egypt, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference, the UN and the EU.

    Also attending are senior diplomats from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France -- and members of the G-8, including Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy.