WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and China laid out a shared vision on Tuesday of how to lead the global economy out of recession but had little to show diplomatically from two days of talks on topics from climate change to North Korea.
At the conclusion of the first round of what will be an annual "Strategic and Economic Dialogue," the countries agreed to take steps to rebalance the global economy and maintain stimulus spending until economic recovery is secured.
They also signed a memorandum on climate change, energy and the environment without setting any firm goals, and pledged their support for free trade.
"Laying this groundwork may not deliver a lot of concrete achievements immediately but every step on this path to create confidence and understanding is a very good investment," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a news conference.
Perhaps the biggest accomplishment was that both countries agreed they need to reconfigure their economies so that China is less reliant on exports for growth and the United States resumes saving and investment to stop the boom-and-bust cycle.
"China will rebalance toward domestic demand-led growth," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, while the United States had already learned the "importance of living within our means as a country and at a household level."
Clinton lauded the discussions as a symbol of 30 years of progress between two countries with a history of deep diplomatic and ideological divides. Yet there were signs that the two sides were still struggling to bridge the gap.
On issues from North Korea to human rights, Clinton said little more than that the two sides had talked.
"Human rights is absolutely integral to the strategic and economic dialogue," she said. "We discussed a number of human rights issues, including the situation in Xinjiang, and we expressed our concerns."
Clashes broke out in July between ethnic Uighurs and Han Chinese in western China's Xinjiang province, and around 50 Uighurs chanted slogans outside the White House on Tuesday demanding freedom and democracy.