Tillerson to visit Beijing, plan for Trump's trip

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson holds a press briefing during the UN General Assembly in New York, US, Sept 20, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be in Beijing on Saturday in a visit that will pave the way for US President Donald Trump's trip to China before the end of the year.

The top US diplomat will meet State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi to exchange views on bilateral ties, the planned Trump visit and major international and regional issues, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Wednesday.

Tillerson's second visit to China, following his trip in March, is part of the recent frequent exchanges between the two countries. US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was in Beijing on Monday.

The first round of the China-US Social and Cultural Dialogue, co-hosted by Vice-Premier Liu Yandong and Tillerson, was set for Washington on Thursday.

It's not surprising for China and the US to have a number of high-level exchanges within a week, reflecting the normal and friendly relations between the two powers, Lu said.

Since the meeting between the two presidents in April, China and the US have maintained close, high-level contacts and exchanges, which is good for the stable development of Sino-US relations, he said, adding that the enhanced cooperation benefits the people of both countries.

In the less than three months since early July, President Xi Jinping and Trump have had three phone calls to exchange views on bilateral relations as well as global issues such as the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue.

The US State Department says the visit reaffirms the Trump administration's commitment to enhance US economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ruan Zongze, executive vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said that the US pays great attention to China's position and view on major international issues and needs more communication with China.

"Both sides will be open to the topics of discussion during Tillerson's visit," he said, adding that the two nations should handle disagreements on trade and boost coordination on regional security issues.

Zhou Jin contributed to this story.