China, US hold fence-mending talks
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A duo of U.S. diplomats on Thursday sat down for fence-mending talks with Chinese diplomats, showing U.S. intent to mend ties.
"Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo met with Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and Senior White House Asia adviser Jeffrey Bader on Thursday morning in Zhongnanhai," said a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued Thursday noon.
"They had candid and in-depth discussions on issues of common interest," the statement said, without specifying the content discussed.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also met with the U.S. duo.
The three-day visit came amid spats between the two countries following Washington's 6.4-billion-U.S.-dollar arms sale plan to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama.
Despite much media attention, both governments kept the U.S. duo's Beijing visit low-profile.
"The United States was responsible for damage to relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said an hour before the U.S. duo arrived in Beijing on Tuesday.
"We hope the U.S. side takes seriously the Chinese position, works with China to push the relationship back to the track of sound and healthy development," Qin said.
