WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi met here with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the State Department on Thursday to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual concern.

Before their meeting, Yang told reporters he was confident that he will "have very good discussions with" Tillerson, which will help push forward the "very important" bilateral relations.

"We've had many, many good discussions," said Tillerson, referring to his talks with Yang before.

"And we are going to continue these very important discussions about U.S.-China relations," the top U.S. diplomat added.

While announcing Yang's U.S. visit on Tuesday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that both China and the United States have expressed willingness to maintain and further strengthen contacts and exchanges in various aspects.

Yang has come at the invitation of Tillerson, according to the spokesperson.

After witnessing a year of steady development, boosted by successful face-to-face meetings and frequent phone conversations between top leaders of both countries, the China-U.S. relations are facing certain challenges, marked by some worrisome moves from Washington since the end of 2017.

The first national security strategy put forth by the Trump administration in December listed China, along with Russia, as a major "competitor" and so-called "rival power" of the United States.

There were also reports that Washington is considering tough protectionist measures against China, one of the largest trade partners of the United States, to address the country's rising trade deficit, triggering widespread worries about a possible trade war that will have no winner at all.