Quoting a Chinese idiom, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday the United States and China are "in the same storm-tossed boat" and should meet common challenges together.

"When we approach our relationship in the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation, with determination at the highest levels to overcome our differences, we will have great success - from leading the globe to conquer the financial crisis, to forging a global accord on climate in Copenhagen, to charting a common response to the challenge to international security," said Geithner.

While addressing the opening ceremony of the second round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) on Monday at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, he said both countries, sharing important interests and responsibilities, have worked hard to build a stronger relationship since the last S&ED first convened in Washington D.C. last July.

Geithner also highlighted such words as "common interests", which ran through his remarks.

He said both the United States and China could find a wide range of common interests in building a stronger and more resilient world economy for more balanced growth, a more stable financial system less prone to crisis as well as a more open global trading system with fair balance of benefits and responsibilities.

He added the common interests between the two countries could also be found in structuring a stronger global framework for cooperation, in the Group of 20 and in the international financial institutions.

Geithner, along with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as representatives of U.S. President Barack Obama, will co-chair the second round of S&ED from May 24 to 25 with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo, representatives of Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The annual S&ED mechanism, which succeeded from China-U.S. Strategic Dialogue and China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue, has been designed to enhance mutual understanding and trust between the two sides and will cover a host of topics, ranging from bilateral links to regional and global issues.

The very mechanism was decided on April 1, 2009 by President Hu and President Obama during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 financial summit in London.