China's high-flying US expert talks to Trump's team

Beijing

CHINA'S top diplomat, who recently met a senior adviser to US President-elect Donald Trump, is a high-flying former Chinese ambassador to Washington with a deep understanding of US politics, a country he has clashed with, too.

State Councillor Yang Jiechi, who outranks China's foreign minister, met Trump advisers, including his pick for national security adviser, retired Army lieutenant general Michael Flynn, during a transit in New York on his way to Latin America in recent days, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Monday. The spokesman gave few other details, other than that they exchanged views on China-US ties and other important issues.