U.S. official in Beijing ahead of Obama's visit to China

BEIJING (Yonhap) – The top national security adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama held talks with her Chinese counterparts on Monday, during which they discussed a range of bilateral and international issues, including North Korea.

The visit by U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice to Beijing comes about two months before Obama is to hold a one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on the sidelines of the APEC leaders' summit.

At the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, Rice told Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi that the relationship between the two nations "is very important to the United States."

"Having this kind of high-level continuing dialogue is helpful to enable us to sustain and to deepen the type of productive relations and good work that's necessary for U.S. interests, for China's interests, and for the interests of the global community," Rice said.

Rice described Obama's upcoming visit to Beijing as an "important milestone," saying that Obama "is very much looking forward to his visit here in November, both for APEC and for the opportunity to have yet another very important round of bilateral discussions."

The U.S. and China, North Korea's last-remaining patron, have remained far apart over how to resume the long-stalled multilateral talks aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.

North Korea, which has conducted three nuclear tests since 2006 and threatened to conduct a "new form of nuclear test," has repeatedly expressed its willingness to reopen the six-party talks "without preconditions."

South Korea and the U.S. have called on China to play a greater role in leading North Korea to demonstrate with action its commitment to denuclearize before any resumption of the nuclear talks with the North can take place, but Beijing's efforts have still been seen as more accommodating toward North Korea.