U.S. leader is expected to make his first China state visit in November
The top diplomats of Beijing and Washington vowed that the two countries will work together to ensure U.S. President Donald Trump's first visit to China yields "fruitful results", according to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
In his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington on Tuesday, China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi said Beijing is ready to work with Washington to make sure Trump's state visit to China, scheduled for this year, attains positive outcomes.
Trump is likely to visit China in November, when he also is set to attend the U.S.-ASEAN summit and the East Asia summit in the Philippines, as well as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing an unidentified U.S. official.
The report also said Yang and Tillerson were expected to discuss the details of the president's China trip at their meeting.
A statement issued after the meeting by the Foreign Ministry did not reveal details but quoted Tillerson as saying Trump is very much looking forward to the state visit and to planning with President Xi Jinping the future development of the Sino-U.S. relationship.
Tillerson also said that following the inaugural high-level dialogue on diplomacy and security, which took place in Washington in June, and the high-level dialogue on the economy in July, the U.S. is ready to work with China on the first high-level dialogue on social and cultural issues and the dialogue on law enforcement and cybersecurity.
The U.S. is ready to ramp up exchanges and coordination on international and regional issues, and make Trump's visit to China productive, Tillerson said, according to the statement.
The four dialogues are part of the four-pronged high-level dialogue mechanisms set up by the presidents during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in April.
Yang said maintaining the good momentum is in the interest of both countries and in line with the aspirations of the international community.
Yang said the two countries should build on the consensus reached by the two presidents. He said the two sides should strengthen exchanges at different levels, expand mutually beneficial cooperation, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and manage and control their differences in a constructive fashion.
Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, said Yang's visit was to consult and communicate on the agenda for the coming meeting between the two heads of state.
He said a major concern will be how to manage their differences on controversial issues in the China-U.S. relationship, while both sides ensure their meeting is a success.
