Trump, China's top diplomat, discuss cooperation, possible Xi meeting

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. President Donald Trump, who has attacked China on issues from trade to the South China Sea, held his first face-to-face talks with a member of the Chinese leadership on Monday, and the White House said it was a chance to discuss shared security interests and a possible meeting with President Xi Jinping.
State Councilor Yang Jiechi, China's top diplomat, met Trump briefly after talks with the new U.S. National Security adviser, H.R. McMaster, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
A senior U.S. administration official said discussions included bilateral cooperation and the possibility of arranging a meeting between Trump and Xi, but no date was set.
The official said the meeting with Trump lasted five to seven minutes.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer called it "an opportunity to say 'hi' to the president" before Yang left.
"This was an opportunity to begin that conversation and talk to them on shared interests of national security," he said at a regular news briefing.
China's Foreign Ministry cited Yang as telling Trump that China was willing to enhance exchanges with the United States at all levels, expand coordination and cooperation, and respect each others' core interests and major concerns.
"Ensuring the steady and healthy development of China-U.S. ties will surely benefit both peoples and the world as a whole," the ministry paraphrased Yang as saying.
Yang, who outranks China's foreign minister, was the first top Chinese official to visit the White House since Trump took office on Jan. 20.
His visit followed a phone call between Yang and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson last week, during which the two affirmed the importance of a constructive U.S.-China relationship.