U.S., China discuss new round of interaction between 2 countries' presidents in 'near future'

The U.S. and China on Wednesday agreed to maintain "high-level" exchanges and communication at all levels, besides discussing a new round of interaction between the two countries' heads of state in the "near future."

The visiting U.S. national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who held two-day talks in Beijing, also agreed to continue to carry out cooperation in drug control, law enforcement, repatriation of illegal immigrants, and climate change mitigation, state-run Xinhua News reported.

Wang called on Washington to respect Beijing's sovereignty and its political system.

"The United States should stop suppressing China in economics, trade and science and technology," state broadcaster CCTV quoted him saying.

The two sides agreed to continue to implement the important consensus reached at the November 2023 San Francisco meeting between the two heads of state.

They also agreed to institutional arrangements for holding a video call between "theater leaders" of the two militaries as well as the second round of China-U.S. intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence at an "appropriate" time, according to the broadcaster.

Washington has long been calling for a direct line as military tensions with China have spiked in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.

Suvillan reached Beijing on a three-day visit on Tuesday.

His visit marks the first by a U.S. national security adviser to China in eight years, and is viewed as laying the groundwork for another summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Ties between the two global heavyweights have plummeted in recent years as Beijing remains deeply suspicious of Washington's efforts to strengthen its alliances and partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region.

It has accused the U.S. of trying to build an "Asian NATO" in a region it sees as its sphere of influence.