The US’s top diplomat, John Kerry, says he’s looking to "expand dialogue and set a roadmap" with China. Mr Kerry is on his first visit to Beijing as the new US Secretary of State. He called it a "critical time" for the development of China-US ties, and for resolving the tension on the Korean Peninsula.

High level talks between the world’s two most powerful economies.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on both sides to promote dialogue, respect each other’s core interests and properly handle differences. He said China and the US must pave the way for the development of a new type of relationship between the two countries.

During his meeting with the US Secretary of State, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for closer economic ties, and a "shared responsibility" for maintaining peace and stability.

John Kerry echoed the thoughts, urging both sides to enhance cooperation.

John Kerry, US Secretary of State, said, "I have brought greetings from President Obama, and he hopes that this meeting will do exactly what you described, that we can provide a roadmap as you talked about, that we can raise the dialogue to a higher level, and of course in the next hour, we will be able to do that."

With a new leadership in China, and a number of new senior officials in the US, analysts believe John Kerry’s visit is carefully designed to test the waters.

They say the need is growing for a new type of relationship between an established power and a rising power, as the world becomes more closely intertwined.

Yang Xiyu, Research Fellow, China Institute of Intl’ Studies, said, "This visit takes the task to better understand the attitude, policy and directions of China’s new leaders to Obama, and vice versa.....especially the rebalancing strategy which seems to me make the region more imbalanced. "

Significantly, Beijing is asking Washington to pay more respect to China’s regional interests. That includes territorial disputes with Japan and the Philippines.

Analysts say the so called Asia pivot by the US has triggered unreasonable expectations over the country’s involvement in some bilateral disputes. And that has not been helpful.

An even more immediate concern is the belligerent DRPK threat of a fresh missile test. John Kerry is bringing to the Chinese table the fruits of his discussions in South Korea, as he tries to forge a path out of the current crisis.

Shi Yinhong, Director, US Study Center, Renmin Univ., said, "If compared with last three weeks, I think the US began to realize dialogue is not only indispensable, but far from sufficient. I think that John Kerry might talk with Chinese leaders on how to mobilize diplomacy to find an exit for the current dangerous situation. "

On the economic front, Chinese leaders are calling on the US to loosen restrictions on high-tech exports to China. The two sides have so far agreed to release a joint statement and establish a special working group on climate change.

John Kerry’s first visit to Beijing will enable the new leaderships of China and US to exchanges ideas on foreign policy. The new Secretary of State is facing a tough task, to find a path out of the current crisis. Cooperation between Beijing and Washington is not only important to solve the crisis, but also key to the long term stability in the region.