U.S. and Chinese officials gathered in Washington D.C. for the Strategic and Economic Dialogue conference where President Barack Obama stressed the importance of ongoing dialogue between the two countries, especially in the midst of a global economic crisis.

The two economies are closely tied together as China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury debt, meaning that the Chinese have loaned America a lot of money, and could at some point ask for it back.

At the same time, American demand for Chinese-made products has been a major driver of Chinese economic growth over the past decade.

Other items on the agenda at the forum include the environment, nuclear proliferation and human rights issues.

In this video, NewsHour correspondent Margaret Warner reports on the talks and what they mean for relations between the U.S. and China.

"The relationships between the United States and China will shape the 21st century, which makes it as important as any bilateral relationship in the world. That really must underpin our partnership; that is the responsibility that together we bear." - President Barack Obama

"We're actually in the same big boat that has been hit by fierce wind and huge waves. With our interests interconnected, sharing will and woe, and what we can do is to follow the trend of the development of our times, try to cross the stormy water together as passengers of this boat, to seek harmonious coexistence and willing cooperation." - Dai Bingguo, state councilor, China

"To the extent that any of these issues across the board rely on the free exchange of information, the freedom of expression, the ability for people to raise problems with the government, and the need for an independent judicial system -- and that cuts across a lot of different issues in the U.S.-China relationship -- those need to be brought up by all of these different agencies rather than just relegating them to a human rights dialogue, which really the Chinese government just has to sit through once or twice a year and where there are no real consequences." - Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch

1. How would you describe China? What do you think of when it comes to the Chinese government, economy and culture?

2. What are human rights? How can a government either protect or abuse human rights?

1. President Obama noted that the U.S. and China are the two countries that "will shape the 21st century" but China is currently on better economic ground than the U.S. Does this surprise you? Why or why not?

2. The U.S. government owes China $800 billion. How can that debt impact international relations between the two countries?

3. Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch believes the U.S. government needs to take a harder stance against China's record on human rights issues. Do you agree that human rights take precedence over economic and political issues? How are they all related? Explain.