Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi (L), as a special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, delivers a speech during the sixth round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Beijing, capital of China, July 9, 2014. The sixth round of S&ED opened in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

A strategic dialogue between China and the United States kicked off here Wednesday with regional security as a key topic.

Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry opened the annual high-level talks, which constitute one tier of the sixth round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue and the fifth round of High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange slated for Wednesday and Thursday.

Noting the importance of the dialogue, Yang said he expected the two sides to take full advantage of the opportunity and address issues of common interest.

Kerry underscored regional security as the focus of the talks.

"We are convinced that the United States and China do not have to be rivals but can be partners, and find things to cooperate on that are important to security in the region," he said.