US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that China is playing a very important role in tackling the current global financial crisis.

"I think China is playing a very important stabilizing role in this financial crisis we're seeing globally," he said in an interview with CNBC.

He noted that the United States was working closely with China to tackle the crisis.

"The things they are doing to get their economy stronger, to encourage domestic demand growth, to allow further evolution in their basic financial framework, those things are very important policies," Geithner said. "We're working very, very closely with them."

Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama will hold their first meeting on the sideline of the upcoming G20 summit in London.

China is expecting positive results from the meeting, said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei on Monday, adding the two leaders will cover a wide range of topics including bilateral ties, joint actions to fight the global financial crisis, and other issues of common concern.

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2009)