China, U.S. hold third women's leadership dialogue Chen Zhili (1st L), vice chairwoman of the standing committee of China's Nation...

China, U.S. hold third women's leadership dialogue

Chen Zhili (1st L), vice chairwoman of the standing committee of China's National People's Congress and president of All China Women's Federation (ACWF), and Hillary Clinton (2nd R), secretary of state of the United States, attend the third China-U.S. Women's Leadership Exchange and Dialogue (Women-LEAD) in Washington, U.S., March 28, 2012. Chen Zhili and Hillary Clinton have lauded the progress in ties between the people of the two countries at the third China-U.S. Women-LEAD held here Wednesday . (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- All China Women's Federation (ACWF) president Chen Zhili and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have lauded the progress in ties between the people of the two countries at a women's leadership forum here.

The third China-U.S. Women's Leadership Exchange and Dialogue (Women-LEAD) was held Wednesday as part of efforts to boost people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Chen, who is also vice chairwoman of the standing committee of the 11th National People's Congress, said the friendly ties between the two nations were becoming more effective in promoting communications in all areas of bilateral relations.

Women-LEAD, launched under the framework of China-U.S. High-level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange last year, opened a new page of exchange and cooperation between women of the two countries, Chen said.

The initiative injected fresh momentum into the friendly exchange and cooperation between China and the U.S. and had become one of the most active parts of the people-to-people exchange mechanism, she said.

Clinton expressed her appreciation for Chen's commitment to Women-LEAD, saying the exchange and cooperation between people of the two countries -- including that between women -- had profound implications.

The secretary applauded both countries' achievements since the launch of the initiative in sectors including women and sustainable development, raising awareness of breast cancer and capacity-building for women leaders.

The Women-LEAD initiative was launched during second annual high-level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange between China and the U.S. last April in Washington, D.C.

Key goals of the initiative are to promote the sharing of knowledge and expertise on developing women's leadership across all sectors -- including entrepreneurship, science and technology -- and providing support for capacity-building programs for emerging women leaders.

The fourth Women-LEAD dialogue will be held in May this year in Beijing.