Addressing the two-day 2004 China-US Telecom Summit, which opened in Chicago Thursday, Minister of Information Industry Wang Xudong said that China and the United States should have a strategic vision that goes beyond the information industry to the economic and trade relations between the two countries.

Wang said in the information and communication industry's migration to the next-generation network, the two countries should cooperate in wider areas and at higher levels.

"In particular, we wish to see the US ease export controls to support the wider scope of cooperation," the minister said.

The 15th US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) held two months ago yielded good results, Wang said. He added that he believes the current summit will further mutual understanding, increase consensus, deepen cooperation in the field of information and communication, and drive forward Sino-US economic and trade ties.

US Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans said the summit provides an important chance for the US government and companies to understand China's telecommunication market. He hoped the summit would produce tangible results following the JCCT meeting held during Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi's visit to the United States in April.

The summit, the fourth of its kind, is co-hosted by the US Department of Commerce and China's Ministry of Information Industry. Several workshops and talks are to be held to exchange views and enhance cooperation in the telecom sector.

China held the first three summits in 1995, 1997 and 1999.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2004)