High-level Sino-US talks start on Friday

China and the United States will hold the second round of their Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington on Friday, the Foreign Ministry announced.

The first round, in June 2017, also took place in the US capital.

Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will co-chair the meeting along with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news conference on Tuesday.

Yang is also the director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee.

State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe will also take part in the talks.

Beijing and Washington had previously agreed in principle to hold the second round in mid-October, but the US proposed putting it off, Hua said last month.

The announcement comes days after a phone conversation between President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump, during which they discussed bilateral trade while agreeing to meet during the upcoming G20 Summit in Argentina.

On trade frictions, Hua said China and the US should properly handle disputes on the basis of equality, good faith and mutual respect.

“We hope economic teams from both countries will sincerely implement the consensus reached by their leaders, increase contacts and maintain communication, and also conduct consultations on issues of mutual concern so as to reach an agreement acceptable to all.”

The China-US Diplomatic and Security Dialogue is one of the four-pronged high-level dialogues initiated by the two heads of state last year, which has set the course for future cooperation between Beijing and Washington. The other three dialogues cover the economy, law enforcement and cybersecurity, and social and cultural issues.

Also on Tuesday, Reuters quoted Vice-President Wang Qishan as saying the world today faces many major problems that require close cooperation between China and the US, and it is Beijing’s firm belief that the two countries will both gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation.

Wang said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore that the Sino-US relationship will have a direct impact on global stability and development. He added that China will remain calm and coolheaded, embrace greater openness and work for mutual benefit.