BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday met with visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry on bilateral ties and issues of common concern.

Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Kerry, who is on his first visit to China since taking office in February.

China is the second leg of Kerry's four-day East Asia tour, which has taken him to the Republic of Korea. He will fly to Japan on Sunday.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed interest in creating a roadmap to facilitate the development of bilateral ties while meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday.

Wang said bilateral ties have had a good start, adding that he hopes both sides can create a roadmap that can promote dialogue and cooperation.

"We hope both sides can continue to address differences based on the spirit of mutual respect," Wang said.

Currently, the most important task in terms of boosting ties is converting the consensuses reached between both sides into specific policies and action, Wang said.

President Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on March 14. Both leaders agreed to continue to boost their partnership's development and find a path for a new type of relations between two major powers.

Kerry said he hopes his visit will help provide a direction for the development of bilateral dialogue.

Related Stories:

China, US consider roadmap to boost ties