China and the United States will discuss issues of common concern in the first round of strategic and economic dialogue so as to promote understanding, mutual trust and cooperation, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday.

The China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue, launched by Chinese President Hu Jintao and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama during their meeting in London in April, will hold its debut meeting in the United States in late July.

"The establishment of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue is an important measure for boosting bilateral ties in the new era," the spokesman Qin Gang told a regular press briefing.

The two sides would discuss strategic, overall, long-term issues, he said.

The strategic track of the dialogue will be chaired by Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while the economic track will be chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, as special representatives of the Chinese and U.S. heads of state.

The two sides were now preparing for the first round of dialogue, Qin said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2009)