Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China is resolute in defending its sovereignty in the South China Sea, and believes the disputes should be settled peacefully by relevant claimants through direct talks, Xinhua said.

President Obama and President Xi Jinping of China said Thursday that they would sign the Paris Agreement on climate change on April 22, the first day the United Nations accord will be open for government signatures.

The United States has told China it will not recognize an exclusion zone in the South China Sea and would view such a move as "destabilizing," U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said on Wednesday.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping are likely to discuss North Korea, cybersecurity and human rights when they meet on Thursday before the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, the White House said on Wednesday.

President Barack Obama will be meeting with Asian leaders in Washington this week as fears grow that long-smoldering tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea risk flaring into conflict.

The militaries of China and Vietnam should deepen their exchanges, communication and friendship, China's defense minister said during a visit to Hanoi, amid a festering territorial dispute in the South China Sea.

This timely conference will take place just after the release of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) at the National People’s Congress in Beijing. It will open with a presentation on China’s One Belt One Road strategy by the Former Chairman of China’s Banking Regulatory Commission, followed by two panels of senior China experts from the public and private sectors.

China and the United States are nearing the end of negotiations over a key agreement aimed at increasing trade between the two nations, former Chinese minister of commerce Chen Deming reportedly said Wednesday.

China has enough policy tools to keep the economy stable despite "deep rooted" structural problems and downward pressure, Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, channeling calm amid concerns about the country's slowdown.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will push President Barack Obama next week to resume talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, a senior diplomat said on Thursday, a meeting that could also touch on hacking and the South China Sea.