5 facts about Tillerson's visit to China

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in China on Saturday for his first visit to the country since taking office. 

Saturday afternoon, Tillerson met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. After the meeting, they attended a joint news conference in Beijing. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Beijing, capital of China, March 18, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua/Pang Xinglei]

"Though there are disputes between us, China and the US can still boast a good partnership as long as we adhere to the principles of non-conflict, mutual respect, as well as win-win cooperation," Wang Yi noted.

Tillerson said he'd already had an extensive exchange of views with Wang on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) issue. China and the US share a common view that the tension on the Korean Peninsula has escalated to a dangerous level, the US official said.

On his two-day visit, Tillerson will also meet Chinese leaders and other senior officials to discuss China-US relations, bilateral trade and regional issues. 

Tillerson's visit to China is said to pave the way for possible meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in the near future.

China is Tillerson's last stop of a six-day, three-nation (Japan, South Korea, China) Asian tour.

About Rex Tillerson

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson [File Photo: Xinhua]

Rex Tillerson is the 69th United States Secretary of State and he took office on February 1, 2017.

He started his career at ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas company, in 1975 and became its CEO in 2006.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi: "Secretary Tillerson is a good communicator"

Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tillerson was a good listener and communicator during a news conference on the sidelines of the Fifth Session of the 12th National People's Congress on March 8 in Beijing.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi answers questions on China's foreign policy and foreign relations at a press conference for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua/Cui Xinyu]

The Minister said he sat next to Secretary Tillerson while they were both attending the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting, and they had their first face-to-face meeting shortly after that. 

"My impression is that Secretary Tillerson is a good listener and a good communicator; I hope and believe we can establish a good working relationship and work together to realize normal development of china – U.S. relations," Wang Yi said at the news conference.

China-U.S. bilateral trade

In 2016, the U.S. remained China's second largest trade partner, largest export market, and fourth largest source of imports, China's Ministry of Commerce statistics show.

At the same time, China was the U.S.'s largest trade partner, third largest export market, and top source of imports in 2016.

(By China Plus)

(By China Plus)

(By China Plus)

Chinese and Americans like each other more

People from the U.S. have an increasingly favorable impression of China, according to a survey of Gallup, American research-based consulting company. 

(By China Plus)

Meanwhile, 50 percent of Chinese people surveyed had a favorable opinion of the U.S. in 2016, a 6 percent increase since 2015, a survey by America's Pew Research Center shows. 

(By China Plus)