SEOUL - Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama agreed Thursday to continue pushing forward the globally significant relations between their countries.

China believed a good China-US relationship not only served the interests of both countries and both peoples, but also contributed to world peace, stability and development, Hu told Obama at the meeting on the sidelines of the fifth summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) meets US President Barack Obama as part of the G20 Summit in Seoul, Nov 11, 2010. [Photo/Xinhua]

The two sides needed to strengthen bilateral dialogue, exchanges and cooperation and respect each other's core interests to bring their positive, cooperative and comprehensive relations to higher levels, Hu said.

Special Coverage: Hu Attends G20 Summit Related readings:  Hu: China concerned over new US monetary policy  Hu-Obama meeting reaches major consensus: spokesman  Hu Attends G20 Summit  Hu: China willing to further promote Sino-US ties

Echoing Hu's remarks, Obama said that, as two leading nuclear powers and economies, the United States and China had a "special obligation" to curb nuclear proliferation and secure a strong, balanced and sustainable growth of the recession-hit world economy.

"We've created a strategic and economic dialogue in which our teams have been working on a whole range of issues. And we are seeing significant progress," he said.

The two heads of state also discussed a range of major regional and global affairs of common concern and reached important consensus, Chinese delegation spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in Seoul Thursday.

Ma quoted Hu as saying China hoped the Seoul gathering would make progress in consolidating the recovery of the world economy, promoting the reform of international financial institutions, narrowing the gap between the North and the South and facilitating the Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations, and thus further polish its role as the main platform for international economic cooperation.

"I'm confident that positive results will be achieved at the summit with concerted efforts from all parties concerned," Hu said during the meeting with Obama.

Hu also thanked Obama for inviting him to visit the United States next year, and the US president said he was looking forward to hosting Hu in Washington.

The latest Hu-Obama meeting is their third in eight months, following one during a nuclear summit in Washington in April and the other during the last G20 summit in Toronto, Canada, in June.

Hu arrived in Seoul earlier Thursday for the G20 gathering, which is expected to address the challenges to the fledgling global economic recovery in the wake of the global financial crisis and pave the way for a sustainable and balanced growth.