China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spent the day in Washington in discussions with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. It’s the first time the two men have met since the protests in Hong Kong began. CCTV’s Nathan King is live from the newsroom with more.

The meeting between the envoys was meant to prepare for President Barack Obama’s visit to China in November, but many other issues were also raised. During a press conference prior to their discussions, both officials shared their views on global concerns and China-U.S. dialogue.

“As China knows, we support universal suffrage in Hong Kong in accordance with the basic law. And we believe in open society with the highest possible degree of autonomy, governed by the rule of law is essential for Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity. And we have high hopes that the Hong Kong authorities will exercise restraint and respect protesters right to express their views reasonably.” – John Kerry U.S. Secretary of State

Kerry said he would raise the issue of the current Hong Kong demonstrations in their meetings, while Wang said China was willing to talk about a range of regional and international issues but said that Hong Kong affairs are a part of China’s internal affairs and that other countries “should respect China’s sovereignty.”

“I believe for any country, for any society, no one will allow those illegal acts that violate public order. That’s the situation in the United States and that’s the same situation in Hong Kong. We believe that the Hong Kong special administrative region government has the capability to properly handle the situation in accordance with the law.” -Wang Yi Chinese Foreign Minister

Kerry also thanked Foreign Minster Wang for China’s contribution to tackling the Ebola crisis and commitment to fighting terrorism and climate change. View a State Department slideshow of the meeting.

Yi later met with National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Obama, who both raised the issue of Hong Kong as well.

“President Obama affirmed that he is looking forward to his visit to China. The President and Ambassador Rice also noted that the United States is following developments in Hong Kong closely and expressed their hope that differences between Hong Kong authorities and protestors will be addressed peacefully,” a White House said in a statement.

For more on US-China relations, CCTV America was joined by Teng Jianqun (JYEN-chun) in Beijing. He is from the China Institute of International Studies.