U.S. President Barack Obama met on Tuesday at the White House with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The session helped set the stage for the upcoming London meeting of the world's 20 leading developed and emerging economies.

Since taking office, President Obama has focused on the ailing U.S. economy - pushing a stimulus package through Congress and taking steps to repair damage to the financial sector.

But as he sat down with Britain's Gordon Brown, Mr. Obama stressed the international nature of the economic crisis. He said countries must work together to get the global economy back on track.

Mr. Obama added that the process will not be easy or quick.

"It's going to be sort of full of fits and starts in terms of getting the mess cleaned up. But it's going to get cleaned up. And we are going to recover. And we are going to emerge more prosperous, more unified and, I think, more protected from systemic risk, having learned these lessons, than we were before," he said.

Prime Minister Brown made specific mention of the need to overhaul the world's financial regulations and institutions - an issue he likely will raise when he hosts the London summit on April 2.

"A bad bank anywhere can affect good banks everywhere. So we've got to root out the problems that exist in other parts of the world as well, set principles with the banking system for the future and make sure that the banks subscribe to lending agreements where they actually increase the lending that is available to citizens in every country," he said.

Gordon Brown is the first European leader to meet with President Obama at the White House. As the two men sat down for talks, reporters asked whether Britain still has a special place in U.S. foreign policy.

President Obama said it always has and always will.

"I think this notion that somehow there is any lessening of that special relationship is misguided. Great Britain is one of our closest, strongest allies and there is a link, a bond there, that will not break. And I think that's true not only on the economic front, but also on issues of common security," the president said.

Mr. Obama made specific mention of Britain's role in Afghanistan and Iraq. The situation in Afghanistan will be the central issue when NATO holds its 60th anniversary summit on the French-German border in April, immediately after the economic talks in London.

奥巴马布朗有共同价值观

美国总统奥巴马和英国首相布朗星期二在白宫会见，强调两国“特殊关系”和“共同价值观”的重要性。奥巴马说，他们讨论了在经济危机问题上共同合作，以及安全和外交政策问题，如阿富汗战争等。

奥巴马说，他感谢英国在阿富汗提供的支持。他说，确保阿富汗和巴基斯坦不成为恐怖坏分子活动的庇护所对英美两国都有深切的利益。他希望英国在这方面继续作为美国“最坚强的伙伴”。

在经济问题上，布朗说，他和奥巴马讨论了采取联合行动来帮助其它国家联合一致，共同建立更稳定的金融体制。两位领导人强调改革法规结构的必要性。他们呼吁以全球的观点进行整顿。奥巴马还警告不要采取保护主义政策。