Clinton met with Dai, China's senior-most foreign policymaker, in the VIP lounge at the airport in the resort town of Sanya, a photographer said.

Her sixth Asian tour in less than two years aims to pursue what an aide called "cool-headed, constructive diplomacy" with China and boost US ties with its Pacific neighbours.

Earlier in the day, she held talks in Hanoi with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who called on Washington to avoid "irresponsible remarks" when discussing a disputed island chain over which Beijing is feuding with Japan.

Clinton had told an Asian summit that maritime rows should be settled by international law. China wants to handle such disputes bilaterally with its neighbours.

The pair also discussed tensions over China's policy on rare earths, a group of 17 elements used to make everything from iPods to hybrid cars.

Beijing has come under criticism for its export quotas on the minerals, and Tokyo has accused it of restricting shipments to Japanese firms amid their row over the contested islands in the East China Sea.

Clinton said Yang had told her that Beijing -- which has a near-monopoly on the global rare earths market -- had no plans to withhold rare earth minerals from the market.

The US secretary of state was expected to raise many of the same issues with Dai that she discussed with Yang, including rare earths, according to a senior State Department official who asked not to be named.

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