A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman urged the United States to respect its core interests while commenting on a trip to China by two senior U.S. diplomats on Tuesday.

"We urge the U. S. to earnestly observe the principles laid down in the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques and their joint statement, respect China's core interests and properly handle sensitive issues, so as to push the relations back to the normal track," said spokesman Qin Gang at a regular press conference.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and National Security Council Senior Director for Asian Affairs, Jeffrey Bader, started a three-day visit to China Tuesday amid recent tensions in bilateral ties following Washington's 6.4-billion-U.S.-dollar arms sales plan to Taiwan and President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama.

China is not to blame for the current difficult situation, Qin said, urging the U.S. to take China's interests and concerns seriously.

The foreign ministry said the U.S. side proposed the visit and China then accepted it.