China confirms Xi Jinping to make first US state visit

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/11/xi-jinping-to-make-first-us-state-visit

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Xi Jinping will make his first state visit as China’s president to the United States, Chinese official media and the White House have announced.

The Xinhua news agency said Xi had accepted President Barack Obama’s invitation to visit in a telephone call between the two on Tuesday night and would visit in September. The White House said it was looking forward to welcoming him.

The two countries have been working together on issues including greenhouse gas emissions but have clashed diplomatically on several fronts, including cyber-espionage allegations and China asserting its maritime territorial claims against US treaty partners Japan and the Philippines.

Obama visited China in November to attend the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum during which he held a separate day of meetings with Xi.

They also met in the US in June 2013 for an informal summit at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, California.

The White House said Obama and Xi spoke on the phone about issues ranging from China’s assistance to west African nations battling Ebola to prospects for a US-China investment treaty.

The two reaffirmed their commitment to closely co-ordinate on threats to global security. The White House singled out efforts to encourage Iran to respond positively in negotiations over its nuclear programs with the five United Nations security council members, including both China and the US, along with Germany.

The confirmation of the visit came as US deputy secretary of state Tony Blinken was in Beijing to meet Chinese officials.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing on Wednesday, Blinken said his visit aimed to “deepen our practical co-operation, to manage our differences and to deliver tangible results for the people in China and the United States and others in the world”.