President Xi Jinping called for "constructive measures" in managing differences between China and the US as he met with US National Security Advisor Susan Rice in Beijing on Friday in preparation for his state visit to the US next month.

Analysts said that Rice's China visit came amid improving relations between the two nations, and will serve as a platform to discuss both sides' stance and bottom line on hot issues such as the currency exchange rate and the South China Sea disputes ahead of Xi's upcoming visit.

During the Friday meeting, Xi said both nations should use constructive measures and maintain communications when approaching sensitive issues. Xi also called on both sides to respect and accommodate each other's core interests to narrow the differences as well as to maintain the overall stability of the two nations' ties.

Both countries should continue to build a new type of major-country relationship, he told Rice.

Echoing Xi's words, Rice said the US is willing to work with China in managing the two nations' differences with constructive efforts. Both US President Barack Obama and his government attach great importance to US-China relations, she added, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

During her visit to China, which will last until Saturday, Rice also met with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to discuss climate change and military cooperation.

After meeting with Yang, Rice said the two sides had been able to "discuss frankly our differences," and over the last year have made progress "in areas ranging from climate change to the exchanges on tourists, to the military relationship, and cooperation on Ebola." She said that both sides were looking forward to a successful summit, reported the Associated Press.

Yang said Rice's visit "has significant importance to China-US relations and international relations."

"Bilateral ties between China and the US have improved recently when comparing to earlier in May when relations were strained by conflicts over the South China Sea and cyber security," Ni Feng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told the Global Times.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter sparked bilateral tensions in May when he asked his staff to look at options that include flying Navy surveillance aircraft over the islands and sending US naval ships to within 12 nautical miles of reefs in the South China Sea.

Also in May, the US Justice Department filed criminal charges against five Chinese People's Liberation Army officers, claiming that they helped Chinese firms steal business information on US companies.

"Although the two countries' differences will continue to persist, both sides have shown a willingness to maintain stability, as well as the desire to create a  good atmosphere to prepare for Xi's September visit," Liu Weidong, an expert on US studies with the CASS, said.

Xi hosted Obama in Beijing in November 2014, during which the two sides announced a landmark agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Ni, the CASS expert, said that climate change will be a major issue to be discussed during Rice's China visit as well as Xi's upcoming summit with Obama in the US, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Paris.

Ni believed that new issues such as the current yuan exchange rate were also discussed amid the US accusation of China manipulating its currency and the current stock market slump that has rattled the global market.

"High-level summits between leaders of both nations, along with the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, have become part of the most important mechanisms in leading the overall development of Sino-US relations," Liu said.

Fan Changlong, a vice chairman of the Communist Party's Central Military Commission also met with Rice on Friday when the two discussed security cooperation.

"The width and depth of military cooperation between the two countries has continued to expand amid frequent high-level visits," Fan said, according to Xinhua.

"As the next step, both sides should work to manage differences and risks with the aim to further develop a new model of cooperation between the two armies," he said.

The US envoy said Washington was "deeply committed to building a healthy, stable, reliable military-to-military relationship with China" and stressed an agreement last year to "reduce the risk of unintended consequences" in encounters. Rice also met with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and head of the Central Financial Work Leading Group Office Liu He.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) meets US National Security Advisor Susan Rice at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on Friday. Photo: AFP