U.S. and Chinese leaders will meet in Washington D.C. on July 27 and 28 in the first "strategic and economic dialogue" between the two countries under the new Obama administration, said U.S. officials on Monday.

According to a statement released by the U.S. State Department and Treasury Department, the first joint meeting of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue "will focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas of immediate and long-term strategic and economic interests."

"This first meeting of the Dialogue will also set the stage for intensive, ongoing and future bilateral cooperative mechanisms," it added.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2009)