China and the United States are committed to building a new type of major power relationship by expanding cooperation and holding candid talks on differences, the nations' top diplomats said.

Visiting Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China is ready to work with the US on good preparations for more high-level engagement and to push forward mutually beneficial cooperation.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the US State Department in Washington on Thursday. Sun Chenbei / CHINA DAILY

"We look forward to working with the United States to ensure that we will be able to translate the defining feature of this new model of major country relationship, namely non-conflict and confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, into all aspects of the China-US relationship to bring benefits to both our countries and beyond," Wang said.

He was speaking on Thursday at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department.

The new type of major country relationship was reaffirmed by President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama when they met in California in early June.

Wang, making his first trip to the US since becoming foreign minister in March, said he believes there is tremendous potential for the two nations to work together to further expand and deepen their cooperation.

On Thursday afternoon, Wang met US Vice-President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce.

Biden said he and Obama both believe that the success of humankind in the 21st century largely depends on how the two countries deal with their relationship and how the two peoples cooperate in tackling common global challenges. He said he is very optimistic.

Kerry said the US has a vested interest in China's growing prosperity and partnership, not only in the Asia-Pacific region, but also around the world.

He described the new type of relationship as based on practical cooperation and constructive management of differences.

"We recognized the need to avoid falling into a trap of seeing one another as strategic rivals," said Kerry, who has met Wang several times in recent months.

"That recognition is now driving our partnership on issues from climate change to wildlife trafficking to military consultations and the promotion of balanced growth around the world," he said.

"Importantly, part of our new relationship is a commitment to engage in frank discussion on sensitive issues, particularly where we disagree, where misunderstanding could lead to a miscalculation," said Kerry, who visited China in April.

Common ground

Syria, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, US rebalancing to Asia-Pacific, Iran, climate change and cybersecurity were among a host of issues the two sides discussed on Thursday.

While they see some common ground on the key issues of Syria and the Korean Peninsula, differences remain.

Wang reiterated that China welcomes the framework agreement reached by the US and Russia.