A senior U.S. State Department official says Secretary of State John Kerry held an “unprecedented and substantive” dialogue with a senior Chinese official at Kerry’s private home in Boston.

Kerry hosted China’s State Councilor Yang Jiechi for two days of very informal but still candid talks on a wide range of issues. They included Ebola, Islamic State, and Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs.

They also discussed such sensitive matters as human rights, pro-democracy marches in Hong Kong, and U.S. charges of Chinese cyber-spying.

Both countries have stressed the need to overcome mistrust, manage their differences and cooperate on these and other topics. Both diplomats said the relationship between the two countries is mature enough to handle disagreements while building on areas of shared interest.

Yang has said the U.S. and China need to improve cooperation on issues related to the Asia-Pacific region because that area has seen strong economic development.

Despite the informal atmosphere — including dinners and a concert by a Chinese-American harpist — the U.S. official said Kerry got a “full and careful” hearing on matters of U.S. concern.

The official said the results of the weekend talks will be incremental and increasingly visible over time.

Kerry met in Washington earlier this month with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Those talks highlighted differences over Hong Kong’s ongoing pro-democracy demonstrations.

The Boston talks were aimed at warming U.S.-China ties ahead of next month’s summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Beijing. U.S. President Barack Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping plan to meet after the summit.
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