China and the United States should keep close contact and make good use of the existing four high-level dialogue channels to further boost ties, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said Thursday.
During his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Yang said that the two sides have decided to hold the second round of the Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in China during the first half of the year.
Beijing and Washington will hold a second round of Law Enforcement and Cyber Security Dialogue, the Social and Cultural Issues Dialogue, and the Comprehensive Economic Dialogue within the year, Yang added.
Progress was made in China-U.S. relations last year under the guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, said Yang, adding that the two leaders have exchanged views through phone calls and letters this year, setting the tone for the development of bilateral relations.
The two sides should fully implement the consensus reached during the Xi-Trump meeting in Beijing last November, and expand trade, military, law enforcement and drug enforcement ties, as well as enhance people-to-people exchanges, said Yang.
Yang also urged the two sides to strengthen coordination on important international and regional issues.
The four high-level dialogue mechanisms were initiated during a meeting between Xi and Trump at the latter's Mar-a-Lago resort in the U.S. state of Florida last April.
The four channels have provided opportunities for Chinese and U.S. officials to talk about significant issues ranging from peace and stability in the South China Sea and military-to-military exchanges, to innovation cooperation and cyber crime.
Compared with previous communication mechanisms, the four dialogues are more outcome-oriented, emphasizing key areas of mutual concerns, Cheng Li, director of the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.
