US talks with China fail to narrow gaps

Talks between US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chinese leaders have failed to narrow gaps on how to end the crisis in Syria and resolve Beijing's territorial disputes with its smaller neighbours over the South China Sea.

Mrs Clinton, who met president Hu Jintao and foreign minister Yang Jiechi, wants China to stop backing the regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad, and has been pushing for the country to be more flexible in lowering tensions over the oil-rich South China Seas.