The United States and China have agreed to hold senior level talks on a regular basis on a range of political and economic issues, the U.S. State Department said Friday. "We want to recognize the role that China is playing in Asia, in global affairs as a member of the U.N. Security Council, and have more regular discussions of world issues with China," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. The agreement marks the first time the two countries have agreed on regular high level talks. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will lead the American delegation at the meetings. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Chinese leadership agreed to hold the discussions when she travelled there in March, Boucher said. China has been leading the effort to return North Korea to the table for six-nation dialogue aimed at ending the nuclear crisis on the peninsula, an effort Washington has generally been pleased with. North Korea earlier this year admitted to having nuclear weapons and has refused to participate in a fourth round of the talks that also include Japan, South Korea and Russia. ---SP 2258 Local Time 1958 GMT
