Vice-Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo will inaugurate a 'strategic dialogue' with his US counterpart Robert Zoellick in Beijing next week.
The so-called strategic dialogue was launched by presidents Hu Jintao and George W. Bush at last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum meeting in Chile, with the aim of institutionalising top-level communication between the two countries.
The inaugural session, on Monday and Tuesday, is expected to cover a broad array of topics including North Korea, bilateral trade, Taiwan, energy and the fight against terrorism, Xinhua reported yesterday.
Analysts say the recent frequent interaction between China and the US underscores a willingness by both sides to explore mutual interests and discuss how best to manage differences.
'Although bilateral ties have been strengthened in terms of more high-level exchange platforms and more commitment to solve problems, the distrust between two countries is still deeply seated ... strategically, they feel uncertain, even paranoid about each other,' said Ni Feng , director of American Studies Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
An increase in high-level dialogue was intended to solve the 'trust issue' in what is arguably the most important bilateral relationship in the 21st century, analysts said.