The U.S. top diplomat John Kerry is on his first visit to Beijing as the new U.S. Secretary of State. He called it a "critical time" for the development of China-U.S. 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 U.S. must pave the way for the development of a new type of relationship between the two countries.

During his meeting with Kerry, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for closer economic ties, and a "shared responsibility" for maintaining peace and stability.

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

"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," Kerry said.

With a new leadership in China, and a number of new senior officials in the U.S., analysts believe 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, a research fellow with China Institute of International 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 U.S. 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 Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK),  threat of a fresh missile test. 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 of the U.S. Study Center of Renmin University, said, "If compared with last three weeks, I think the U.S. began to realize dialogue is not only indispensable, but far from sufficient. I think that 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 U.S. 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.

Kerry's first visit to Beijing will enable the new leaderships of the two countries 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.

(CNTV.cn April 14, 2013)