US President Barack Obama has opened talks in Washington with Chinese officials. He called for broad cooperation on economic affairs, saying the two countries' relationship is "as important as any" in the world.

The two-day conference will cover a range of topics, from how to revive the global economy to climate change, and there will also be some discussion of human rights issues.

Speaking to reporters at the start of the meeting, President Obama said:  "The relationship between the US and China will shape the 21st century, which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world."

"That reality must underpin our partnership. That is the responsibility we bear."

First round of talks

This is the first round of the strategic and economic dialogue initiated by George Bush, and China is represented by State Councillor Dai Bingguo and Vice Premier Wang Qishan. The US delegation is led by Treasury Secretary Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as well as President Obama.

He has been working hard to continue the work done by his predecessor George W Bush, but those talks were more focussed on economic issues.

Climate change

Analysts say there will be a greater emphasis on other topics including climate change, but that we should not expect too many concrete outcomes from the talks.

Bonnie Glaser, senior fellow in China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC said officials from the US administration gave a background briefing in which they were careful to set expectations on the issue fairly low.

"They said on this issue, climate change, no breakthrough is expected. It is clear in the many discussions that American and Chinese officials have had, that the Chinese have stuck fairly firmly to their position that there should be common, yet differentiated responsibilities - essentially saying that developing countries should be able to reduce emissions at a slower rate than developed countries.

"The Chinese have also stuck to the position that the developed countries should provide financial assistance and technological transfer to developing countries in order to help them reduce emissions. These are issues that are not easy to resolve and I really don't expect any breakthroughs on climate change."

Human rights

Another sensitive subject likely to be left out of any in-depth negotiations is human rights, and in particular recent unrest in China's Xinjiang region, which prompted condemnation from the US government.

Ms Glaser said:  "I think these things will come up, but they will not be central. It is certainly necessary for the US to raise these concerns - the Obama administration believes they are an important part of the US-China relationship. Nevertheless, I think they will focus more on issues where they feel they can set an agenda and make some progress going forward, rather than just having an exchange of positions, which I think is liekly to happen on issues relating to Xinjiang, Tibet, and other human rights issues."

Listen to the full interview with Bonnie Glaser from the Center for Strategic and International Studies