BEIJING -- China and the United States were divided on Wednesday over how to end the bloodshed in Syria and defuse tension in the South China Sea and other global troublespots, but stressed hope for steady ties as they navigate political transitions at home. 

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi vowed goodwill after talks which had been preceded by criticism from Beijing of Clinton's calls for a multilateral solution to the territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.

---

Clinton told reporters that such disagreements did not have to hobble cooperation.

"I'm very proud of the strength and resilience that we have built into our relationship," she said after talks with Yang in the cavernous Great Hall of the People in Beijing. 

"It makes it possible for us to talk about anything, and to find ways to tackle issues frankly and forthrightly," Clinton said, adding that the two sides would not see eye-to-eye on all the issues that are part of their vast relationship. 

Chinese media: 'Many Chinese people dislike Hillary'

Yang also cast relations in a positive light, saying both sides could work together as long as "mutual respect for each other's core interests and major concerns" continues. 

"History and facts have repeatedly proven that China and the United States have interwoven interests," said Yang. 

The remarks underscored efforts by both sides to contain quarrels, especially as they focus on domestic politics. China's Communist Party is preoccupied with a once-in-a-decade leadership change over the coming months, while President Barack Obama is focused on a re-election fight culminating in November. 

Praise, little consensus
Clinton praised China for helping to apply pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities, and Yang sounded a moderating note on Syria by balancing opposition to outside intervention with support for a "political transition." 

"China is willing to maintain and strengthen dialogue, communication and coordination with the U.S.," Chinese President Hu Jintao told Clinton, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry's website. 

Much at stake for US as tensions rise in troubled China Seas

"Maintaining stable development of Sino-U.S. economic and trade ties has an important impact on the two countries, as well as the revival and growth of the world economy." 

Neither side gave ground on the South China Sea disputes, which have emerged as a persistent irritant, reflecting suspicions in Beijing that the Obama administration is seeking to curb Chinese influence. 

China's claims over much of the South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel islands, have put it at loggerheads with Vietnam, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations. A similar dispute has set China against Japan in the East China Sea. 

China has been especially irked by the U.S.-backed proposals for a multilateral approach to resolving such disputes, preferring to negotiate separately with each of the far less powerful Asian claimants. 

'Big enough for all of us': Clinton says US can work with China in Pacific

A U.S. official told traveling reporters that Vice President Xi Jinping, who is overwhelmingly likely to succeed Hu as president, had to cancel his meeting with Clinton. Vice Premier Li Keqiang would meet her instead, said the official. 

Xi canceled an earlier meeting with Singapore's prime minister, a sign his absence was not a snub at Clinton. 

"We hope people will not make unnecessary speculation," Yang said of Xi's absence. 

'Fishing for advantage' 
The overseas edition of state mouthpiece the People's Daily laid out China's concerns ahead of Clinton's meetings, suggesting the United States was seeking to gain leverage from China's tensions with Japan and Southeast Asian countries. 

"The United States' recent conduct concerning the Diaoyu islands and South China Sea issues cannot but create the suspicion that it is attempting to sow discord in order to fish for advantage," said a front-page commentary in the paper, which broadly reflects official thinking. 

China and Japan have rival claims to the uninhabited Diaoyu islands -- called Senkaku in Japan -- and surrounding fishing areas and potentially rich gas deposits. 

"Regarding the South China Sea, the position of the Chinese government has been consistent and clear cut. China has sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and their adjacent waters," Yang, the foreign minister, told reporters. 

"Nowhere else do China and the United States share more converging interests and interact more frequently than in the Asia-Pacific region," he said. 

Pacific micro-nations cash in on US-China aid rivalry

Clinton repeated that the United States took no position on the contending claims but wanted China and Southeast Asian states to agree on a code of conduct to avoid flare-ups.

"The United States does not take a position on competing territorial claims ... but we believe the nations of the region should work collaboratively to resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation and certainly without the use of force," she said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

"That is why we encourage ASEAN and China to make meaningful progress toward finalizing a comprehensive code of conduct in order to establish rules of the road and clear procedures for peacefully addressing disagreements."  

Reigning in North Korea
The Obama administration also wants greater Chinese cooperation on other international problems, including reining in the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs and finding a solution to the Syria crisis. 

China backs a "political transition" in Syria to end worsening bloodshed after 18 months of unrest, Yang said while repeating Beijing's opposition to forceful foreign intervention in the crisis. 

As Clinton preps for Asia-Pacific tour, is North Korea capable of reform?

Clinton said it was "no secret" the U.S. government was disappointed by the positions of China and Russia on Syria, and she reiterated that the best course of action remained tough U.N. Security Council action. 

Yang also said his government opposed the efforts of any country, including Iran, to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies having such ambitions. 

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

• Mexico arrests 'El Gordo,' alleged leader of Gulf Cartel drug gang
• Cringe! Britain's finance chief booed at Paralympic Games
• Chinese media: 'Many Chinese people dislike Hillary'
• In parts of China, BYO school supplies include desks
• Pistorious sorry for timing, not content, of Paralympics outburst
• 77-year-old Japanese man asks US mayor to look for items lost in tsunami
• Sun Myung Moon, founder of Unification Church, dies at 92

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

CANBERRA, Australia -- Small South Pacific island nations are cashing in on new aid rivalry between China and the United States as both powers vie to boost their influence in a vast region of mostly micro-nations.

The recent visit to the tiny Cook Islands by United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton highlighted the growing significance of the region as the United States continues its "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific, analysts said.

---

The Clinton visit also underlined a growing Chinese influence as it steps up its aid programs to enhance its standing among the smaller nations.

"It is very significant. It just confirms that the Pacific is becoming of greater importance, not less," Stephen Howes, professor of development policy at the Australian National University, told Reuters.

'Big enough for all of us': Clinton says US can work with China in Pacific

China's aid program is difficult to measure, although a report by the Lowy Institute think tank in 2011 found China's aid was worth around $200 million a year, with a heavy reliance on soft loans -- a loan with a below-market interest rate -- to finance public works.

In recent years, China's aid and soft loans have helped build sports stadiums in Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands, a swimming complex in Samoa, a new port in Tonga, as well as extensions to the Royal Palace in the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa.

China has also funded a new police station and court buildings in the Cook Islands capital Raratonga, and boosted aid to Fiji as western nations shunned its military government after the 2006 military coup.

'Cooperation, not competition'
During her visit to the Cook Islands, Clinton announced an extra $32 million in U.S. aid programs for the Pacific, ensuring the U.S. maintains its role as the second-largest aid donor to the region behind Australia.

Much at stake for US as tensions rise in troubled China Seas

Clinton also said the United States could work with China in the Pacific, and played down any new China-U.S. rivalry.

The United States spends about $300 million a year on Pacific nations, including round $100 million a year on military assistance, compared to around $1.2 billion a year from Australia.

China says it is merely seeking to help the poor and remote nations in the region develop.

"We are willing to make a contribution, along with all other parties, to help with sustainable development in the South Pacific. We are looking for cooperation, not competition," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

In the past, China's aid flows into the Pacific have been designed to head off potential spending from Taiwan and to try to prevent tiny nations giving official recognition to Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province to be united with the mainland eventually, and by force if necessary.

For more coverage on China, visit NBC's Behind The Wall

But in the past three years, China and Taiwan have agreed to stop trying to poach Pacific nations to their side.

"At the moment, it is more to do with the United States than it is with Taiwan," Lowy Institute South Pacific analyst Annemaree O'Keeffe told Reuters.

She said China's aid programs had undergone significant changes as it recognised deeper problems with its traditional monument projects, where China might construct a major building but then leave a country struggling to maintain it.

"It can work against them. You can have a wonderful sports stadium, but if it starts to fall down, you'll remember that the Chinese built it," O'Keeffe said.

She said China had begun to work more closely with other countries and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on the effectiveness of its aid programs.

China seeking positive image?
That was evident at the Pacific Islands Forum in Raratonga, where China and New Zealand announced a joint aid program to improve water supplies in the Cook Islands. New Zealand will provide $12 million and China will provide a $26 million loan.

As Clinton preps for Asia-Pacific tour, is North Korea capable of reform?

The ANU's Howes said China's growing aid influence in the Pacific was simply a reflection of its rising global influence and as more countries, including Indonesia and Brazil, start to spend more on aid.

"It is a global phenomenon of China reaching out," he said. "More broadly, it is China asserting itself as a global power and expanding its aid and investment from state-owned companies."

He said China was keen to project a positive image, which is why China's aid focused on high-profile projects, although China could do more to ensure its aid programs were transparent.

The downside, however, is that countries might struggle to repay China's soft loans, leaving them worse off in the long run, he said.

Australia, a close U.S. ally which counts China as its top trading partner, has welcomed China's interest in the Pacific, and said China's aid program was no cause for concern.

"I don't think Chinese influence in the South Pacific is anything to alarm us," Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr told reporters in Perth in last week.

"The fact is, China's rise to being a great power -- China's economic growth -- will see that it develops relations around the world more vigorously than it ever has in the past and we Australians have just got to get used to it.

"The Chinese will learn that a heavy-handed aid program doesn't get them the kudos that a better targeted more professional aid program does."

More world stories from NBC News:

• Pistorious sorry for timing, not content, of Paralympics outburst
• Sun Myung Moon, founder of Unification Church, dies at 92
• Girl accused of blasphemy in Pakistan may have been framed by Muslim cleric
• 'Big enough for all of us': Clinton says US can work with China in Pacific
• Assad stays cool amid reports of bread-line slaughter

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

 

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.