ISTANBUL

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng called Tuesday for "partnership and friendship" with the US ahead of a possible meeting in South Korea between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

Han said the two countries "can and should" become "partners and friends," since they hold broad common interests and promising prospects for cooperation, according to the state-run CGTN news channel.

He made the remarks during a meeting with US State Senator Rob Wagner, who serves as president of the Oregon state Senate.

Exchanges between Chinese and US lawmakers have picked up in recent times.

Trump said Monday that he will meet with Xi in South Korea "in a couple of weeks."

Han expressed hope that the US will cooperate with China in a "spirit of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation" to jointly discover "the right way" for the world’s largest two economies to interact in the new era, in a way that benefits both countries and the world.

Han also expressed hope that Wagner and his fellow lawmakers will continue communicating and exchanges between the two sides, "deepen people-to-people relations and play an exemplary role in promoting subnational China-US cooperation."

Wagner, in turn, stressed the importance of subnational level cooperation and that Oregon has passed a bill to continue strengthening its "friendly cooperation" with China.