By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent
WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - The United States and China agreed on broad cooperation principles on Tuesday after two days of talks aimed at trying to lead the global economy out of recession and tackling tough environmental and diplomatic issues.
Following are answers to questions about the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue:
WHAT WHERE THE CONCRETE ACHIEVEMENTS OR "DELIVERABLES"?
A memorandum of understanding on cooperation on climate change was the only major agreement unveiled after two days of talks. In the economic sphere the two sides issued broad agreements to coordinate policies to overcome the global economic crisis; to promote open, market-oriented financial systems; to strengthen trade and investment ties; and to shore up the international financial architecture. The United States and China agreed to take steps to reduce trade imbalances, with Washington promising to boost private savings while Beijing works to promote more domestic demand.
WHAT DID THE TWO COUNTRIES SAY ABOUT EXCHANGE RATES?
U.S. and Chinese officials had few direct discussions on currencies and did not discuss the stability of the dollar or its status as the world's reserve currency. The U.S. side has taken a softer approach to the thorny issue of China's yuan exchange rate, which many analysts and U.S. lawmakers believe is too low, providing China a trade advantage. Instead, U.S. officials have emphasized the need for China to spur more domestic consumption and rely less on exports for its economic growth.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE DIPLOMATIC AND STRATEGIC TALKS?
The two sides vowed close communication and coordination to tackle traditional and non-traditional security threats in Northeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. They vowed to fight terrorism and strengthen international non-proliferation and arms control regimes.
On North Korea, they vowed to uphold the stalled six-party talks and implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874 that bans many transactions with Pyongyang. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said China shared U.S. concern about the suspected nuclear arms ambitions of Iran.
They pledged to increase coordination to promote stability and development in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to boost consultation on the Darfur issue in Sudan.
WHAT DID THE TWO SIDES ACHIEVE ON CLIMATE CHANGE?
They signed a memorandum of understanding that promised more cooperation on climate change, the environment and energy issues. Clinton said the two countries -- the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases -- discussed in detail how to cut emissions. But no new targets were agreed on and specifics were vague. A U.N. conference on global warming will be held in Copenhagen in December.
DID THE UNITED STATES RAISE HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS?
The issue of human rights was raised by President Barack Obama in his opening remarks and Clinton also briefly referred to it. But the Obama administration appeared to want to avoid any confrontation on the issue, fearing it could scupper advances elsewhere. (Additional reporting by David Lawder, Patrick Rucker and Sue Pleming; Editing by Eric Beech)