China, US diplomats speak by phone ahead of APEC summit

Detailed summary

The top diplomats of China and the United States have held phone talks ahead of a possible bilateral summit next week on the sidelines of the APEC forum in China.

The top diplomats of China and the United States have held phone talks ahead of a possible bilateral summit next week on the sidelines of the APEC forum in China.

The Chinese foreign ministry announced that Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday.

The ministry said the two sides had in-depth discussions on exchanges between the leaders of their countries. It described the call as positive and constructive.

Wang said China maintains its stable and consistent policy toward the US. He added that Beijing is willing to strengthen communication and cooperation with Washington to properly handle differences of opinion and sensitive issues.

The ministry also said Wang referred to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit to open next Wednesday in Shenzhen and a Group of 20 gathering in the US next month.

Wang reportedly expressed hope that the two nations will support each other in efforts to steadily build a constructive relationship of strategic stability.

These were the first announced phone talks between Wang and Rubio since last week's US midterm elections, in which the Republican Party suffered a crushing defeat.

Observers believe the two diplomats made arrangements for bilateral talks between their leaders during the APEC summit.

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