China ready to strengthen economic, trade cooperation with US: commerce minister

China stands ready to strengthen multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation with the United States, said Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during his meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Yaoundé, Cameroon's capital.

Wang said that President Xi Jinping has pointed out that the business relationship should continue to serve as the anchor and driving force for China-U.S. relations, rather than a stumbling block or point of friction.

He urged both sides to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their meeting in Busan and in previous phone calls, and to properly handle the relationship between competition and cooperation, as well as between the past and the future, said Wang.

The minister said China and the United States should strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation, avoid vicious competition, maintain close communication, look ahead and jointly promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of bilateral economic and trade relations.

He stressed that China stands ready to strengthen multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation with the United States, jointly promote WTO reform, strive for tangible outcomes at the 14th WTO ministerial conference, and support positive outcomes at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and G20 meetings.

Wang expressed grave concerns over the U.S. 301 trade probe, citing allegations of overcapacity and forced labor, including those involving China and other economies.

For his part, Greer said that over the past year, the United States and China have carried out constructive economic and trade consultations and maintained close communication and cooperation.

He expressed the U.S. side's willingness to work with China to follow the guidance of the consensus reached by the two presidents, strengthen dialogue, promote the sustained and stable development of U.S.-China economic and trade relations, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results in the economic and trade sector.

The United States is willing to strengthen communication and exchanges with China within the WTO and regional frameworks, said Greer.

A spectacular sight has unfolded along the Dongping Lake in east China, where thousands of migrating wild cormorants have swooped in and come to rest, with the birds each perched atop man-made installations in the water.

Forming orderly rows with almost military-like precision as they each sit on their own individual pole protruding above the water surface, the cormorants appear like watchful "sentinels" quietly guarding the shore.

Serving as an important stopover along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway -- one of the natural world's great migration events -- Dongping Lake's unique aquatic environment and abundant food resources make it an ideal habitat for migratory birds during their mammoth journey.

As the second largest freshwater lake in the eastern Shandong Province, the lake provides a safe haven for over 300,000 waterbirds that stop over, settle, or overwinter here each year.