Beijing ? U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was pressing senior Chinese officials today to cooperate on climate change, the world financial crisis and security threats like North Korea — ahead of long-standing concerns about human rights.

Clinton began wide-ranging talks with China’s foreign minister, emphasizing the need to collaborate on global issues. She was to see its prime minister and president and tour an innovative geo-thermal energy plant in Beijing on the last stop of her inaugural overseas trip as America’s top diplomat.

“We believe we have established a solid foundation, but there is much work to be done and it is in our view imperative that the United States and China cooperate on a range of issues from the economy to global climate change to development and so much else,” Clinton told Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

The two countries are facing “a series of major and pressing” challenges in the 21st century, Yang said: “The larger situation requires our two countries to strengthen dialogue … and work together to elevate our relationship to a new level.”

Ahead of her talks, she told reporters that China could play a major role in stemming global warming, improving the economic outlook and addressing threats like North Korea’s nuclear program and tenuous security situations in Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.