ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) The United States on Friday urged China to halt its militarization of the disputed South China Sea, drawing a rebuke from Beijing for sending U.S. warships and planes close to islands claimed by China in the strategic waterway.

During a round of high-level talks in Washington, the two sides aired many of their main geopolitical differences, including a bitter trade dispute, freedom of navigation in the Asia-Pacific region, self-ruled Taiwan, and China's crackdown on its Muslim minority.

Two visiting senior Chinese officials also seized the opportunity to warn that a trade war between the world's two largest economies would end up hurting both sides and to call for keeping channels of communication open to resolve an issue that has unsettled global financial markets.