BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick arrived here Monday night, starting his three-day visit to China.

    During his visit in Beijing, Zoellick will meet with Chinese leaders including Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing to exchange views on China-U.S. relations and major international and regional issues of common concern, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

    Zoellick will hold talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo to review the issues addressed in the December 2005 U.S.-China Strategic Dialogue that they led, and review preparations for the next dialogue meeting later in the year, according to a statement posted on the official website of the U.S. Department of State.

    The statement quoted Zoellick as saying that the United States and China are two large and important stakeholders in the international system, and it is in their shared interest to listen to one another.

    "I believe it is important to stay continually engaged with my Chinese colleagues," said Zoellick in the statement.

    "I look forward to a good exchange of views in Beijing on security and proliferation issues -- particularly in Northeast Asia, and Iran -- the upcoming conference on Afghanistan in London,China's efforts to promote internal openness and reform, and China's recent white paper on Africa," he said.

    The statement called Zoellick's visit to China as "another step in finding ways in enhanced cooperation between the United States and China within the framework that Zoellick outlined in his Sept.21, 2005 speech in New York, in which he proposed that the United States must step up efforts to make China a "responsible stakeholder" in the international system.

    After Beijing, Zoellick will travel to Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan Province, where he will meet with senior local government officials and visit the Chengdu Panda Research Base.

    China and the United States held two rounds of strategic talks in August and December last year on issues including trade, intellectual property protection, the Taiwan issue, bird flu, the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and the RMB exchange rate.

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan made a positive comment on the current China-U.S.relations at a previous press briefing. "Though facing with some problems, bilateral relations are heading forward in an unprecedented width and depth," Kong said, adding that the two countries need to keep constant contacts and frequent exchange of views.

    China is Zoellick's second leg of a three-nation tour. Zoellickwill leave China for the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. He started his tour from Japan, where he stayed from Jan. 22 to 23. Enditem