China, U.S. prepare for Xi's state visit

BEIJING, Feb. 11 -- Senior Chinese officials on Wednesday spoke of their expectations for President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States in September.

In a meeting with visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Vice President Li Yuanchao voiced his commitment to ensuring a the success of Xi's visit.

China-U.S. relationship is developing well, Li said, calling on the two sides to push forward efforts to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism and the founding of the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui held separate meetings with Blinken. With significant and positive progress in China-U.S. relations in 2014, China expects both sides to keep up the pace this year and a successful visit by Xi will push forward the new type of major country relationship, according to an official news release on the meetings.

The U.S. side is looking forward to strengthening dialogue and cooperation and promoting a better U.S.-China relationship, according to the news release.

President Xi on Wednesday talked on the phone with his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama and accepted Obama's invitation to pay a state visit in September.