CHINA-US: US SECY OF STATE TILLERSON'S VISIT TO BEIJING
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Beijing on March 19, 2017, for talks with Chinese officials and to prepare for the Summit Meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Trump on April 6-7, 2017. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was quoted by Xinhua as saying on March 18, that China and the United States are now in close communication on arrangements for the meeting and exchanges at other levels. He said "We attach great importance to your visit. We have in-depth discussions on arranging a recent meeting between two presidents and starting relevant preparations", adding that the two sides agreed to keep close communication to ensure a successful meeting between the two presidents as well as exchanges at other levels in the next stage. He told Tillerson "Your visit marks a very important step to push forward that process." Wang Yi observed that 'China-US ties are now transitioning and developing steadily along a positive direction' and called for 'called for more cooperation in foreign affairs, the economy and trade, the military, law enforcement, people-to-people exchanges and local communication'. Tillerson said the United States adheres to the one-China policy and is willing to work with China to implement the consensus reached by their leaders and explore more cooperation in the spirit of no conflict, no confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. The United States would like to have more high-level exchanges with China, and more dialogue in diplomatic security, macroeconomic policy coordination, law enforcement, cyberspace and people-to-people exchanges. North Korea and the nuclear issue were also discussed. Jia Xiudong, a researcher with the China Institute of International Studies, commented that "What Tillerson said on bilateral ties this afternoon sent positive signals" and that the necessity of strengthening cooperation between China and the United States have been further strengthened since Trump took office. Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met Tillerson on March 18, the second meeting between the two within one month as Yang visited Washington D.C. late February. People's Daily front-paged the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping met Tillerson on March 19, 2017. (Comment: Tillerson arrived in Beijing on Saturday from Seoul. This is his first official Asian tour which began on March 15 and also took him to Japan.) |