US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials on issues including trade, North Korea and preparations for an anticipated visit by President Donald Trump to China in November. <br/><br/>Tillerson told top Chinese foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi that Trump and Xi had developed a very regular and close working relationship.<br/><br/> His visit, Tillerson said, also provided an opportunity to assess progress made between the sides since Xi and Trump met in April at the US President's estate in Florida. <br/><br/>Tillerson is making his second visit as Secretary of State to the world's No 2 economy and chief American rival for influence in Asia, and increasingly, the world. <br/><br/>Along with Xi and Yang, he met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who told Tillerson that China-US relations overall have a positive momentum and have arrived at an important opportunity to progress further.<br/><br/>Ties between Beijing and Washington are considered more crucial than ever with the standoff over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles entering a new, more dangerous phase as its leader, Kim Jong Un, and Trump exchange personal insults and threats of war with no sign of a diplomatic solution. <br/><br/>Trump has been pressing for tougher measures on Pyongyang from China, the North's chief trading partner and source of aid and diplomatic support.