U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice waves off reporters as she leaves a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, July 21, 2006.[Reuters]

In addition to Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States in April and the ongoing U.S. visit by General Guo Boxiong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, Rice said that President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush also met during the Group of Eight Summit just concluded in St. Petersburg, Russia earlier this month.

"We are having a lot of high-level visits. They will help promote better, stronger relations," Rice told Xinhua in a roundtable interview that included journalists from China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam at the State Department.

The United States and China do not agree on everything and that is not surprising as it shows how complex and big the bilateral relationship is, Rice said.

"The relationship is really good," Rice said, adding that China and the United States are working together at the United Nations as the world body is involved on issues like Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and potentially the Middle East.

"You have not just the U.S.-China relationship, but the U.S.-China relationship working to solve problems in the international politics," Rice said.