Progress in ties showing benefits, Yang tells Trump

US President Donald Trump (3rd R) poses for a picture with China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi (3rd L); General Fang Fenghui (2nd R), chief of the People's Liberation Army's Joint Staff Department; Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai (1st L); US National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster (2nd L) and Jared Kushner, senior advisor to President Trump. Yang and Fang were in Washington to attend the inaugural China-US Diplomatic and Security Dialogue held on Wednesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The dialogue is one of four that the two countries agreed to establish during the Mar-a-Lago meeting.

Yang said this round of the dialogue was an important step to implement the consensus between Xi and Trump.

Yang also said China highly appreciates the fact that Trump sent delegates from the US government to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, held in Beijing in May.

Trump asked Yang to convey his greetings to Xi, and said he was pleased with the progress that bilateral cooperation has achieved since the Mar-a-Lago meeting.

Trump also said the US hopes to cooperate with China in projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative.

Speaking of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, Trump said the US looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China to achieve the peninsula's denuclearization at an early date.

Yang reiterated China's position on the issue and said China hopes to continue to maintain communication and collaboration with all parties involved, including the US, to make joint efforts to ease tension on the peninsula and to solve the issue properly.

Su Xiaohui, a researcher of China's foreign policy at the China Institute of International Studies, said China-US relations have remained stable since the Mar-a-Lago meeting, which was “very successful in setting the tone for bilateral ties”.

Fan Jishe, a researcher of China-US ties at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China and the US have maintained “close cooperation” on major issues, and they need timely communication to solve or narrow their differences.

Meetings between the heads of state of the two countries help guide bilateral ties to develop in a healthy way, Fan said.