Diplomats promise 'results' for Trump's China visit

President Xi Jinping with US President Donald Trump on Saturday in Hamburg, Germany YAO DAWEI / XINHUA

The top diplomats of Beijing and Washington vowed that the two countries will work together to ensure US President Donald Trump's first visit to China yields "fruitful results", according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday night.

In his meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington on Tuesday, China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi said Beijing is ready to work with Washington to push Trump's state visit to China, scheduled for "within this year", to attain positive outcomes.

Trump is likely to visit China in November, when he also is set to attend the US-ASEAN summit and the East Asia summit in the Philippines, as well as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vietnam, Reuters reported early on Tuesday, citing an unidentified US official.

The report also said Tillerson and Yang 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 further details but quoted Tillerson as saying Trump is very much looking forward to the state visit and to plan with President Xi Jinping the future development of the Sino-US 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 US side is ready to work with China to do a good job in running the first high-level dialogue on social and cultural issues.

The US is ready to ramp up exchange and coordination with China on international and regional issues, and make Trump's visit to China productive, Tillerson said, according to the statement.

The three dialogues are parts of the four-pronged high-level dialogue mechanisms established by the presidents during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in April, which has set the course for future cooperation between Beijing and Washington.

Another dialogue is on law enforcement and cybersecurity.

Yang said that maintaining the good momentum of China-US relations is in the interests of both countries and with the common aspirations of the international community.

He said the two countries should build on the consensus reached by the two presidents and promote a healthy and stable development of the bilateral relationship.

Also, the two sides should strengthen exchanges at high and various levels, expand mutually beneficial cooperation on various areas, respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and manage and control their differences in a constructive fashion, Yang said.

huanxinzhao@chinadailyusa.com