US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Premier Li Qiang sounded a hopeful tone on US-China cooperation on Sunday, though the American policymaker noted both sides cannot shy away from tough conversations.

The US-China relationship can only move forward with direct and open communication, Yellen told Li, after arriving in the Chinese capital from the southern city of Guangzhou. Li, in welcoming Yellen, said “China sincerely hopes that the two countries will be partners, not adversaries”.

He added that Chinese Internet users have closely followed the details of her trip since her appearance in Guangzhou, showing “expectation and hope for the China-US relationship to continue to improve”.

Yellen had a series of meetings in the southern port city, including hours of discussions with her counterpart, Vice-Premier He Lifeng.

Both countries have since agreed to hold talks on balanced growth under an existing working group, allowing officials to discuss the key US concern of “overcapacity”.