BEIJING, MAY 3 (AP/UNB) - China's President Hu Jintao says that China and the United States must repect each other even if they disagree.

Hu spoke at an annual foreign policy and economic issues meeting that opened Thursday and has been overshadowed by the fate of a blind dissident, Chen Guangcheng, who has pleaded for more help from Washington after escaping house arrest,

Hu said that "given our different national conditions it is impossible for both China and the United States to see eye to eye on every issue."

But he added the two nations must respect each other and manage their differences so as not to undermine the larger interests of China-U.S. relations.