China PM Sees Good Ties With Next US President

China hopes to maintain and develop constructive cooperative relations with the United States whoever becomes its next president.

China expects its ties with the United States to advance constructively no matter who wins the November presidential election, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Tuesday.

Wen, in a wide-ranging speech to U.S.-China business leaders in New York, also pledged to assure the quality of Chinese exports, saying he felt "great distress" because of a tainted infant powder that has sickened thousands of Chinese children.

"China hopes to maintain and develop constructive cooperative relations with the United States whoever becomes its next president," he said.

"We are confident that China-U.S. relations will continue to move forward no matter who becomes the next U.S. president, as the trend of history will not turn back," added Wen, who is visiting New York for the U.N. General Assembly.

Asia policy advisers to Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican rival John McCain held a debate in Washington on Monday, with both camps spelling out similar stances on integrating China into the international community.

McCain's aides, however, said Obama's opposition to the U.S. free-trade agreement with South Korea and other trade pacts would weaken America's position in Asia. Obama's advisors said hawks on McCain's team viewed China with great suspicion and were not fully committed to working with Beijing.

Wen, Beijing's point man for health and safety crises, did not touch on the U.S. financial meltdown that has roiled world financial markets, including China's.

He said China and the United States shared countless areas of common interest, including tackling "growing financial and economic challenges" and working in a multilateral context on problems such as the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran, global warming and energy issues.

Wen echoed his government's pledge to stop toxic milk from reaching processors and export markets after tainted milk powder made more than 54,000 children sick in a scandal that has hit China's trade reputation.

Milk powder laced with the industrial chemical melamine has led to nearly 13,000 Chinese infants being admitted to hospital, 104 in a serious condition with kidney stones and agonizing complications. Four have died in past months.

Last year China was blamed for exporting tainted pet food, toothpaste and lead-contaminated toys.

"I want to assure you here that we will take measures to improve product quality and food safety in China in a fundamental way," Wen said in response to an audience question.

"We want to make sure that our products and our food will not only meet domestic and international standards but also meet the specific requirements of the importing countries," he said.