Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said on Monday that China is hopes to expand cooperation with the US in all areas.

Yang made the remarks during his two-day visit to the US, starting Monday. Yang is the first senior Chinese official to visit the US since President Donald Trump took office on January 20.

“The two countries will expand coordination and cooperation on bilateral, regional and international issues. The two sides will respect each other’s core interests and major concerns, and work together to push forward bilateral relations, in order to bring benefits to people of China-US and the world,” Yang said during his meeting with Trump at the White House.

Yang's visit follows President Xi's recent phone conversation with President Trump, which offered guidance on the direction of China-US relations.

Following that spirit of that phone call, Yang said China seeks to uphold the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, working with the US at all levels, from top down.

Ensuring steady and healthy development of China-US ties will surely benefit both peoples and the world as a whole, Yang added.

Trump said he was very happy to hold the phone conversation with President Xi.

He said the US highly regards its relations with China, and should hold high-level exchanges and strengthen cooperation on global and regional affairs.

They also talked about other issues of importance, including the DPRK, THAAD and the South China Sea issue.

(Watch this video from our correspondent in Washington, Nathan King, for more about the meeting.)

‍Yang's visit follows several high-level contacts between the two countries.

The call Xi and Trump shared on February 9 call marked a slight thaw in relations that had grown icy since Trump took office.

The US president agreed to honor the long-standing "One China" policy. The White House says Trump and Xi invited each other to visit their respective countries.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his US counterpart, Rex Tillerson, at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Bonn, Germany, on February 17.

And US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke on the phone with several Chinese officials on February 17, including Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang and People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan.