Chinese president holds talks with US vice president

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with US Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday in Beijing, with Xi expressing hope that Biden's visit would further strengthen trust, exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. "The world is undergoing complicated changes, Xi said. China and the US, as two major economies and permanent members of the UN Security Council, share important obligations to maintain world peace and stability and promote development," Xi was quoted as telling Biden. "To enhance dialogues and cooperation is the only correct choice for us," said the Chinese president. Next year marks the 35th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic ties. Xi vowed joint efforts with the US to respect each other's core interests and major concerns, boost pragmatic cooperation and coordination in global and regional issues, properly handle sensitive topics and differences, to ensure sustainable and healthy growth of bilateral ties, according to the report. Biden arrived in Beijing earlier Wednesday for a two-day official visit. This is his second visit to China as US vice president. Xinhua did not mention whether the two touched on rising tensions in the region over China's newly-declared air defense identification zone over the East China Sea. On Nov. 23, China unilaterally established the zone over a large area of the East China Sea, obligating all aircraft passing the area to notify Chinese authorities of their flight plans and identify themselves. The new zone overlaps Japan's air defense identification zone and includes the airspace over the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands, which China also claims as its territory. The zone also covers South Korean airspace as well as Japanese islands that the US has used as firing ranges. In response, Japan, the US, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, the EU have expressed concerns. Biden arrived in Beijing from Tokyo on the last leg of the three-nation tour. He will fly on Thursday to Seoul to hold talks with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, in which they are expected to discuss the Chinese defense zone.