Chinese President Xi Jinping told US National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Monday that both countries should effectively manage their differences and respect each other’s core interests.
Yet Xi’s top general also told Rice that failure to properly handle sensitive issues between the United States and China could “very likely disturb and undermine” their military-to-military relations.
Rice is the most senior US official to visit the capital since an international tribunal this month rejected China’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea – infuriating Beijing and fuelling tensions with Washington.
Rice’s trip is intended to prepare for a visit by US President Barack Obama to a G20 summit in Hangzhou in September.