U.S. China top diplomats meet to discuss regional issues

The top diplomats from China and the United States have met in Beijing, discussing issues ranging from the recent Singapore Summit to the One-China principle.

This is his first official visit to China since Mike Pompeo took office as U.S. Secretary of State earlier this year.

One of his main tasks is to brief Beijing about the recent Singapore Summit between Washington and Pyongyang.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during their meeting in Beijing on Jun 14, 2018. [Photo: gov.cn]

As part of his talks with State Counselor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Pompeo has taken time to thank China for the role it has been playing in the Korean Peninsula issue.

"It's my first visit to China as the Secretary of State. I want to thank all of the Chinese hosts for their hospitality. I also want to thank China and President Xi for the role in bring North Korea to the negotiating table and for its continuous support as we work to achieve the complete, varifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea," Pompeo said.

Pompeo has arrived in Beijing after making a stop in Seoul.

Speaking in South Korea, Pompeo says Washington is hopeful that nuclear disarmament on the Korean Peninsula can be achieved in the next two and a half years.

At Thursday's meeting in Beijing, he has suggested there is a great deal of work waiting ahead before the full settlement of the issue.

He says Washington will be keeping in close contact with China on this front.

For his part, Wang Yi has given high praise to the US side for going through with the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, suggesting it has brought the Korean Peninsula issue onto the correct track of dialogue.

He says China will continue to play its own role and keep close contact with all concerned parties, including the United States.

When it comes to bilateral ties, Wang Yi is calling for the US and Chinese sides to adhere to previously agreements by the leaders of the two countries.

He's also called on both sides to solve their economic problems in a proper manner.

"The two countries' economic teams have held several rounds of talks, reaching important understandings and consensuses and the most important one is to deal with differences in a constructive way. We hope the US side walks along with China and abide by this consensus so as to achieve a win-win result and avoid a no-win situation," Wang Yi noted.

Wang Yi has also warned the US side to not take any unilateral, unconstructive steps, or set new obstacles against further negotiations between the two countries.

Meantime, he's also called on the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle, expressing concerns about some recent actions taken by Washington regarding Taiwan.

Pompeo says despite any differences between the two sides, Washington wants to continue with its long-term strategic relationship with China.

"There are many ways to achive that and the most important one is to continue sound strategic dialogues where we place disagreements, we iron out differences, we express ourselves very clearly and work towards peaceful resolution of conflicts.. make it very clear there are many things today where the US and China work very close together to improve the lives of citizens of each of our two countries I mentioned a couple of mements in my opening remarks. We will continue to walk alongside of those," U.S. Secretary said.

He also says that Washington has not changed its position toward Taiwan, saying the US side will continue to adhere to the one-China policy.