Barack Obama joins NSA Rice meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister

WASHINGTON: Underscoring his commitment to building a stable and constructive relationship with China, US President Barack Obama joined a meeting between National Security Advisor Susan Rice and visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the White House.

Yang is visiting US to hold discussions in preparations for Obama's November 10-12 trip to China.

During the meeting Obama underscored his commitment to strengthening cooperation on shared challenges, such as climate change, the Ebola epidemic, and countering the threat posed by terrorists, particularly IS, the White House said.

Obama affirmed that he is looking forward to his visit to China.

"The President and Ambassador Rice also noted that the United States is following developments in Hong Kong closely and expressed their hope that differences between Hong Kong authorities and protesters will be addressed peacefully," the White House said.

"The United States has consistently supported the open system that is essential to Hong Kong's stability and prosperity, universal suffrage, and the aspirations of the Hong Kong people," it said.

Rice underscored the US interest in closer coordination and cooperation between the US and China on regional and global issues, including Afghanistan, global health security, the Middle East, and the risks posed by North Korea's nuclear programme.

In discussing the preparations for President Obama's visit to Beijing, Rice emphasised that this visit is an opportunity for in-depth discussions about the future potential of the US-China relationship, the White House said.