Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the U.S. State Department on Tuesday. This followed Yang’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

Early in February, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump spoke by phone. Yang said both leaders agreed during that call to make consensus efforts to push forward bilateral relations. He said in the next phase, China is ready to work with the U.S. under the principles of non-confrontation, mutual respect, cooperation and mutually beneficial policies. Yang said China is willing to strengthen communication at all levels and expand coordination on regional and global issues. The two sides, he said, should respect each other’s core interests and major concerns and together push for sound and sustainable development of the China-U.S. relationship, to benefit people in both countries as well as around the world.

According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Tillerson credited Trump and Xi Jinping for setting a positive tone for the development of the bilateral relationship and emphasized a U.S. commitment to working with China and approaching the relationship from a broader perspective. Tillerson is quoted as saying the U.S. is willing to strengthen dialogue and communication at high levels, expand cooperation in all aspects, appropriately handle sensitive issues through consultations and make bigger contributions to peace and prosperity in the region and around the globe.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues that concern both parties.

According to the U.S. State Department’s readout, State Councilor Yang Jiechi extended an invitation for Tillerson to visit Beijing, and Tillerson indicated interest in such a visit in the near future.