File photo of Susan Rice.
The White House's top national security adviser Susan Rice is in Beijing for meetings with senior Chinese officials to pave the way for a visit by President Barack Obama to China in November.
Susan Rice met with China's top diplomat, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, at the Diaoyutai guesthouse Monday. Her three-day visit follows a recent spat over a close encounter between U.S. and Chinese air force planes over the South China Sea.
She said that among all the other issues facing the United States, Obama still considered China to be a priority.
Ms Rice met with Yang at the sprawling Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in western Beijing. She's scheduled to meet on Tuesday with China's defense and foreign ministers before departing on Wednesday.