U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to China this November will be an important milestone in fostering bilateral ties between the two nations, White House National Security Adviser Susan Rice said on Monday while meeting with senior Chinese officials in Beijing.

Rice's meeting comes ahead of Obama's intended one-on-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing on November.

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Rice said her trip underscores Obama's goal of developing U.S.-China relations, adding that dealing with other issues such as the Islamic State in the Middle East and the Ukraine-Russia conflict would not deter Washington from pursuing its goal of improving relations with Beijing.

At the opening of Monday's meeting with China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Chinese ambassador to the U.S. Cui Tiankai, Rice stressed that continued dialogue was key toward a sustainable relationship that would not only benefit both countries, but the international community as well.

Yang said he is looking forward to talks with the U.S. regarding China's major concerns, adding that mutual respect is needed to constructively manage both sides' differences to deal with sensitive issues.

He said the talks would cover issues on counter-terrorism, military relations, conflict in the Middle East, Iran, South Sudan and North Korea.

Rice also is expected to meet with Xi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday.

Rice's trip to China underscores Obama's goal of developing U.S.-China relations amid heightened tensions over last month's incident when a Chinese fighter flew within 30 feet of a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over waters in the South China Sea that Pentagon officials had called a "dangerous intercept."

China has denied the accusations and demanded that Washington halt all reconnaissance missions in the region.

The U.S. insists the reconnaissance missions were carried out over international airspace and thus, was not in violation of any laws.

TagsU.S., susan rice, APEC, Barack Obama, US-China relations, Yang Jiechi