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Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (L) and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meet at the State Department in Washington DC, March 11, 2009. [CFP]
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Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held formal talks in Washington on Wednesday to exchange views on bilateral relations and other issues of mutual concern.
"(I am) very pleased to welcome Minister Yang here to the State Department. I had a very productive and very good visit to (China) when he hosted me," Secretary Clinton told reporters at a photo opportunity just before their formal talks began. The US top diplomat paid a visit to China in February, when she toured four Asian nations on her first foreign trip as Secretary of State.
"And it is very positive for him (Yang) to come so soon to continue our discussion," she added.
Yang, who is in the United States on a five-day working visit as guest of Secretary Clinton, said that he was very glad that the foreign ministers of the two countries could have an exchange of visits within one month.
"We are here to get prepared for our two heads of state's meeting in London and to work together to push our relations forward," Yang said.
US President Barack Obama is to meet the visiting Chinese minister at the White House Thursday.