US, China hold talks on critical issues

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WASHINGTON, Jun 21 (AFP): US and Chinese diplomats launched a broad dialogue Wednesday expected to touch on a range of issues from Beijing's military build-up to its human rights record and help in ending the Darfur conflict.
US deputy secretary of state John Negroponte and China's executive vice foreign minister Dai Bingguo led their teams to the two-day closed-door US-China "senior dialogue" at the State Department.
In brief remarks before the meeting, Negroponte said, "We look very much forward to our discussions."
"I hope we achieve a satisfactory result," Dai said.