Senior Chinese diplomat to meet U.S. national security advisor

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, will meet with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Monday in Rome, capital of Italy, Chinese foreign ministry announced Sunday night.

Yang, also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, will exchange views with Sullivan on China-U.S. relations and international and regional issues of common concern, spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.

The key issue of this meeting is to implement the important consensus reached by the Chinese and U.S. heads of state in their virtual summit in November last year, according to Zhao.

The two sides have been in contact on the matter since late last year, stayed in communication about the meeting and set a time for the meeting according to their schedules, Zhao said.