Wen said the Sino-U.S. relationship is now one of the most important bilateral ties in the world.

The United States and China shoulder special responsibilities, Barack Obama said.

Wen voiced hope the two countries would deliver positive messages to the world.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) meets with U.S. President Barack Obama (R) before they attend the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia, Nov. 20, 2012. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng)

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed bilateral relations with U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday on the sidelines of the seventh East Asia Summit held here.

Both sides believe the Sino-U.S. relationship is now one of the most important bilateral ties in the world and that maintaining its steady, healthy and stable development conforms to the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples and is conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific and the world at large, said Wen.

Looking into the future, Wen said, the two countries should stick to the direction of building the bilateral cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual benefit and consolidate and enhance bilateral mechanisms, including the Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the high-level consultation on people-to-people exchanges.

The two countries should also further promote bilateral economic and trade relations by conducting large-scale cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, finance and infrastructure, he said.

He also called on the two countries to intensify communication and consultation on international and regional affairs, and especially work with other Asia-Pacific countries to safeguard and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region.

Wen stressed that China is at a crucial development stage and needs a long-term peaceful and stable external environment and that China will continue to be a responsible big country that loves and maintains peace.

Obama said the United States would continue to commit itself to working with China to build a strong cooperative partnership.

In the past four years, U.S.-China relations have made remarkable progress, he said, adding that the two sides should make joint efforts to maintain and advance the sound development momentum in bilateral ties.

Washington also hopes that such mechanism as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue would continue and develop, Obama said, calling on high-ranking officials of the two sides to communicate as soon as possible to lay out a roadmap for the development of the ties in the next four years.

Obama said the United States and China, the world's two largest economies, have successfully coped with global and regional economic challenges in the past four years.

The two nations should expand economic and trade cooperation, properly deal with each other's concerns, and further push forward the bilateral economic and trade ties, he said.

Washington firmly believes that China's peaceful rise and success are of vital importance to global security and prosperity, he said, noting that the United States and China should enhance cooperation to jointly deal with global challenges and threats.

Obama said the United States hopes to resolve regional hotspot issues through peaceful means, and will not take a position in issues concerning sovereign and territorial disputes in the region.

The East Asia Summit kicked off here Tuesday, bringing together leaders of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states and eight dialogue partners as well as heads of some international financial institutions.