US not bent on 'constraining' China's rise and growth: Hillary Clinton

Washington, Jan 15(ANI): U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the Obama administration is not bent on containing China.

Clinton's comment comes four days before Chinese President Hu Jintao's scheduled state visit to the United States.

"Some in the region and some here at home see China's growth as a threat that will lead either to cold war-style conflict or American decline," the New York Times quoted Clinton, as saying.

"And some in China worry that the United States is bent on containing their rise and constraining their growth - a view that is stoking a new streak of assertive Chinese nationalism. We reject those views," she added.

The U.S. Secretary of State also emphasized that the US-China relationship was critically important.

"We are working to firmly embed our relationship with China within a broader regional framework, because it is inseparable from the Asia-Pacific's web of security alliances," Clinton said.

Clinton further said that China was finally starting to help the U.S. try to restrain North Korea's behavior after the attack on a South Korean warship and the recent artillery raid.

"We fear, and have discussed this in depth with our Chinese friends, that failure to respond clearly to the sinking of a South Korea military vessel would embolden North Korea to continue on a dangerous course," Clinton said. (ANI)