U.S. secretary calls in-person meeting with Chinese counterpart 'constructive,' says odds high for presidential summit

An unnamed U.S. secretary told reporters his in-person meeting with his Chinese counterpart was "constructive" and "very positive," and said both presidents want a summit, making the odds of a meeting this year "high."

The secretary said of the meeting: "Constructive meeting. ... I thought it was very constructive, positive meeting and a lot of work to do." Asked whether he thought a presidential meeting would happen, he said, "Yeah. No. The odds are high. I think both sides wanna see it happen."

Why it matters: A presidential meeting between the United States and China would be a high-profile diplomatic event with potential implications for trade, security and regional stability. The secretary stressed the talks were not a negotiation on contentious issues but were intended to establish a constructive baseline for continued engagement.

Details from the session: The secretary emphasized the need for ongoing communication: "No matter what, The United States and China have to have relations. We have to have communication." He described opportunities "on some things we might be able to work on to begin to build some momentum in our relationship," while acknowledging hard issues remain.

He also noted the character of the meeting: it was not a negotiation over specific contentious items and that his counterpart also serves as national security adviser, a point he mentioned while characterizing the meeting as a beginning of broader engagement.

Ending: The secretary said he felt "encouraged" by the meeting and that officials would keep working on areas of cooperation; he said no concrete announcements on bilateral agreements were made during his meeting.