U.S. aims for long-haul gains in China talks

By Glenn Somerville - Analysis

BEIJING (Reuters) - Immediate gains from the latest U.S.-China economic talks appear limited, but U.S. officials argue the two sides are making strides towards the goal of getting real results out of complex negotiations.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said from the outset of the "strategic economic dialogue" he initiated a year ago that identifying and relating to key players was the first step towards putting increasingly entwined U.S.-China ties on a new footing that would keep inevitable tensions in check.

As the third round concluded on Thursday with what Paulson conceded was "modest progress" in opening Chinese financial markets, the U.S. Treasury chief stuck to his theme that close engagement was the correct course to take.

"The value in an economic relationship of being able to pick up the telephone and trust that the person on the other side is giving you the facts and telling you -- even if you disagree -- what they believe the facts to be, so you can work through them, is very, very important," Paulson told reporters.

The former Goldman Sachs chairman, with about 70 trips to China under his belt before becoming U.S. Treasury chief in mid-2006, has made getting-to-know-you a business strategy that he plies relentlessly.

"You don't start something up and immediately have that level of trust," he said.

MEET THE CHIEFS

After two days of economic dialogue outside Beijing, Paulson headed straight to meetings in the capital with Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao, hitting the theme that "a bond of trust" was being forged.