U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the second and final day of talks between U.S. and Chinese officials in Washington Tuesday will focus on health care, poverty and energy.
Clinton said officials taking part in the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue will discuss ways to work together to combat infectious disease. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is attending the session, as is Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan are attending a separate session focused on economic issues. On Monday, the two officials said there are signs the global economy is beginning to emerge from the worst of the financial crisis.
U.S. President Barack Obama opened Monday's discussions with a call for broader cooperation between the two countries to spark economic recovery.
U.S. officials have been seeking a commitment from Beijing to boost domestic spending. Chinese officials are seeking assurances from the Obama administration that it will work to control and reduce an expanding fiscal deficit in the United States.
China is America's biggest creditor, holding more than $800 billion in U.S. Treasury Securities.
The U.S.-China talks are an expansion of a dialogue launched in 2006 by the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
