U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Saturday held talks with top Chinese diplomats, with arrangements for an upcoming leaders summit and North Korea high on the agenda.

During a meeting at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Tillerson that ties between the major powers "overall have a stable momentum and also face an important opportunity to develop further."

(Pool photo)

Wang said the two countries view Trump's visit to China in November as very important and both are responsible for ensuring the trip is a "full success."

Tillerson later also managed to meet with State Councilor Yang Jiechi, who outranks Wang as the country's top diplomat, and President Xi Jinping, although his arrival in the Chinese capital was delayed by aircraft problems.

(Pool photo)

Tillerson's visit comes as tension has intensified between North Korea and Trump, who has used increasingly aggressive rhetoric when speaking about Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile development programs.

Since Trump said in speech to the U.N. General Assembly last week he is prepared to "totally destroy" North Korea if the United States is forced to defend itself or its allies, the already tense situation has become even more so, alarming China as it prepares to convene a twice-a-decade Communist Party congress in mid-October.

In the months leading up to the congress, China hoped to ease tension over North Korea and to create a quieter environment.

But the opposite has happened. In addition to a series of ballistic missile tests, North Korea conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test on Sept. 3, just hours before the start of a summit meeting hosted by Xi of the so-called BRICS countries -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- resulting in a diplomatic embarrassment for the Chinese leader.

Trump and U.S. officials have continued to press China to use more of its economic leverage over North Korea, while acknowledging and welcoming Beijing's recent efforts to rein in Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

China accounts for about 90 percent of North Korea's total trade and supplies a huge amount of food and energy.

With the latest set of sanctions, introduced by the U.N. Security Council in response to the sixth nuclear test, 90 percent of North Korea's publicly-reported exports are now banned.

The sanctions also limit the amount of energy sources North Korea can import.

But the Trump administration still believes the measures are not forceful enough to alter North Korea's behavior, and has not given up on getting the 15-member U.N. Security Council -- depending on future action by Pyongyang -- to impose a total embargo on oil shipments to North Korea.

China, however, remains reluctant to push North Korea further into a corner. It has instead repeatedly called for negotiations, particularly between Pyongyang and Washington.

This was Tillerson's second trip to China since taking office in February, following the first in March.