White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that Obama and Hu spoke Friday morning US time of their "intention to build a more positive and constructive US-China relationship."

Meanwhile, Beijing said Saturday that the Chinese leader urged better ties with the United States in his first phone conversation with Obama, and called for both sides to resist trade protectionism.

An account of the conversation issued by the Chinese foreign ministry quoted Hu telling Obama that China would work toward a "more constructive China-US relationship" and welcomed US efforts to shore up the American economy, but warned against moves toward protectionism, the statement said.

"We hope to strengthen communication and coordination on macroeconomic policy and firmly resist trade protectionism," Hu was quoted saying.

The conversation, 11 days into Obama's presidency, followed sharp exchanges between the two sides over China's currency policy and calls from Beijing for a stepped up effort between the two giants to beat the economic crisis.

"The two presidents discussed the international financial crisis and agreed that increased close cooperation between the US and China is vital," said Gibbs.

The spokesman said the presidents agreed to work together on the international stage, specifically regarding Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and on counterterrorism and climate change.

"President Obama expressed appreciation for China's role as chair of the six-party Talks and the two sides affirmed the importance of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Gibbs said.

The only sign that the two leaders had touched on trade and currency tension came when Gibbs said Obama "stressed the need to correct global trade imbalances as well as to stimulate global growth and get credit markets flowing."

There was no mention in the statement whether the US president also raised perennial US concerns with China on human rights, Tibet, religious freedom and Taiwan, which Bejing considers a renegade province.

Earlier in the week, the first exchanges between the new administration and Beijing were dominated by a spat over comments by incoming Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that China was manipulating its currency.

Gibbs said Geithner, in written comments to his Senate confirmation hearing, "was restating what the president had said during the (election) campaign."

"I think it's safe to say this administration will determine in the spring what that means."

The Treasury Department issues twice-yearly reports on global currency policies. The next one is due in April, and a finding that China is "manipulating" its currency to gain a trade edge could trigger US sanctions.

Under the former administration of George W. Bush, the Treasury stopped short of that designation despite furious complaints in Congress that China does indeed artificially weaken the yuan's value to boost its exports.

China denied it was manipulating the yuan, and said it had never done so to boost its trade performance.

Obama this week faced more pressure from Congress in a hearing when organizations including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders demanding he push Beijing on what they said was backsliding on human rights.

Sino-US watchers have been eagerly awaiting the first contact between Obama and the Chinese for hints of how the crucial relationship will develop under his Democratic administration.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week faulted the Bush administration for allowing US-China relations to slip too much into the economic sphere.

"We need a comprehensive dialogue with China," Clinton said.

"The strategic dialogue that was begun in the Bush administration turned into an economic dialogue. That is a very important aspect of our relationship but it is not the only aspect."

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