John Kerry hosts Yang Jiechi for 'frank' talks at his Boston home
Two days of discussions between top diplomats unlikely to have focused on HK, say analysts
US Secretary of State John Kerry hosted China's top diplomat at his Boston home for two days of talks aimed at easing tensions between the two nations.
The meetings on Friday and yesterday between Kerry and State Councillor Yang Jiechi come about a month before US President Barack Obama is due to visit China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit and talks with President Xi Jinping .
"The secretary and the state councillor used the dinner for informal and in-depth discussions and to speak frankly about ways to strengthen the bilateral relationship, improve cooperation on global and regional issues, and better manage differences," a senior US State Department official said.
Officials said the meetings were expected to focus on Sino-US relations and global issues of common interest. Analysts said those issues could include combatting terrorism, the threat from the Ebola virus, nuclear talks with Iran, North Korea, and tension between Washington and Beijing over developments in Hong Kong.
Differences over pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong surfaced earlier this month in talks in Washington between Kerry and Foreign Minister Wang Yi .
Kerry spelled out the US' support for "an open society with the highest possible degree of autonomy and governed by rule of law" in Hong Kong. But Wang said the issue was none of Washington's business.
Jin Canrong, associate dean of Renmin University's school of international studies, said Hong Kong was not likely to take centre stage in the Boston talks.