Foreign Minister Wang Yi emphasized on Wednesday that ensuring peace and stability as well as the safety and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea is in China's interests.

Wang made the remarks as he briefed the US lawmakers on China's stance on the South China Sea issue on Wednesday during a visit to Capitol Hill.

Wang, who is visiting the US from Feb 22-25, said in a meeting attended by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, ranking member Senator Ben Cardin and others that the Chinese side is willing to resolve the disputes with related countries through negotiations and based on international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. But he also voiced China's determination to protect its lawful rights and interests.

Wang told the lawmakers that maintaining a healthy and stable development of China-US relations is in the common interest of the two peoples and the international community.

He emphasized the importance of the two influential nations to strengthen mutual understanding and close cooperation when the global situation is undergoing complex and profound changes.

In a meeting with House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce and ranking member Eliot Engel, Wang expressed China's opposition to the nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and China's determination to defend the global non-proliferation regime.

Wang conveyed President Xi Jinping's best regards to US President Barack Obama as he met Obama at the White House on Wednesday. Obama said he is looking forward to meeting Xi at the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington from March 31-April 1.

Wang expressed that under the guidance of the two leaders, China and the US have made headway in cooperation in various fields.

Wang said the Chinese side is willing to maintain high-level strategic communication with the US, strengthen cooperation on global and regional hotspot issues and join hands with the US in tackling global challenges.

He expressed China's support for the summit.

The US president wanted Wang to convey his best regards to Xi.

Obama spoke positively of the cooperation between the two countries about climate change and regional hotspot issues, according to a press release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Obama reiterated the importance of US-China relations and said the two sides should continue to maintain communication and coordination.

Also on Wednesday, Wang met US National Security Advisor Susan Rice to exchange views on a host of bilateral, regional and global issues.

Wang hopes the two sides will keep bilateral relations on the right track, strengthen strategic trust, deepen practical cooperation and constructively manage their differences in order to achieve greater progress in the bilateral relations in 2016.

Rice agreed, saying that it has never become so important and pressing for the two sides to strengthen cooperation and manage differences.

It has been a busy trip for the top Chinese diplomat. On Tuesday evening, he met Zbigniew Brzezinski, the former US national security advisor under President Jimmy Carter, to exchange views on China-US relations under evolving geopolitics.

On Thursday morning, Wang is scheduled to speak at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where Brzezinski serves as a counselor, trustee and co-chair of the advisory board.

On Wednesday morning, Wang also met Richard Haas, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, to exchange views on US foreign policy and China-US relations in the Asia Pacific. Hass was director of policy planning in the US State Department from 2001-2003 under president George W. Bush.

He held talks with his counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry, on Tuesday afternoon before their joint press conference.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com