Russell said the two sides will host a joint session focusing on cooperation to reduce emissions, make energy cleaner, protect the oceans and provide support for developing and crisis-hit countries.
The U.S. official commended China's growing ability to have a positive impact beyond its borders. He cited China's contribution to combating the Ebola epidemic and helping Afghanistan achieve a smooth transition after the U.S. pullout as examples.
Other issues to be covered in the three-day intensive talks include global hot topics like terrorism, nuclear proliferation and wildlife trafficking, as well as regional issues such as the Korean Peninsula, Afghanistan, Iranian nuclear talks and the South China Sea dispute.
Russell paid particular attention to the Strategic Security Dialogue (SSD), which will be held by senior diplomats and military officials to discuss "the most difficult, the most sensitive, and the most vexing security issues" that concern the two countries. On this year's SSD agenda are issues related to cyber security, outer space and military interaction on the high seas and in the air.
Russell praised the CPE as a "really important element" in developing strong bilateral ties and "an extremely valuable tool" in promoting mutual understanding. He revealed that the U.S. National Hockey League and the American College of Sports Medicine will join this year's CPE to discuss how to get more disabled people and women into the game.
Russell stressed that all these talks will provide both sides with "a really important, regularized platform to strengthen our relationship, to deepen our coordination, to promote cooperation, and to narrow where we can -- at least manage -- our differences."
Responding to a question on the dispute over the sovereignty of islands and reefs in the South China Sea, Russell said that the United States has "an unwavering determination" to avoid military confrontation, including with China.
Fundamentally, it is not an issue between the United States and China, but between China and some ASEAN countries, he said, while calling on China to stop militarizing outposts in the South China Sea. He also called for a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes through diplomacy or arbitration.
China has announced that the land reclamation project on some islands and reefs of the Nansha Islands will be completed in the upcoming days as planned, and it will start to build facilities to meet relevant functional requirements. It has also defended its right to build certain military facilities for self-defense purposes only.
On another contentious issue, namely cyber security, Russell said that cyberspace is one of the important areas in which the two sides must cooperate, as China and the United States are the two biggest Internet consumers. Their businesses, organizations and people are vulnerable when confronting cyber violence.
"That means that there is a need for dialogue. It means that there is a need for real transparency between us. And it means that there's a need for cooperation," he said.
