BEIJING, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. visit of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is expected to bring positive and practical results for the two countries, China Daily reported Thursday.
Xi, likely to succeed Hu Jintao as China's next leader this year, will visit the United States next week, with leaders from both sides stressing the visit's importance.
U.S. and China are the world's two largest economies, with the latter being the largest creditor of the former.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Xi and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke by telephone Tuesday. The ministry said Xi told Biden of the need to promote the establishment of a Sino-U.S. cooperative partnership on the basis of mutual respect and reciprocity.
Xi told Biden he hoped to reach a broad range of Americans to promote mutual understanding and deepen the friendship between the two countries, the report said.
Biden was quoted as saying he and U.S. President Barack Obama attach great importance to Xi's visit as bilateral ties are extremely significant not only for the two countries, but also for the peace and development around the world.
The White House issued a statement Wednesday saying their conversation covered "a broad range of economic and trade issues and regional and global developments."
"Vice President Biden emphasized the importance of building a U.S.-China relationship that addresses practical issues important to both countries, and expressed support for efforts during Vice President Xi's visit to further develop bilateral cooperation," the statement said.
Xi's visit comes at a time when relations between the two countries face differences over such issues as U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan, Iran's nuclear program, North Korea and Syria.
The United States is also shifting its foreign policy pivot to the Asia-Pacific region because of China's growing military might and its aggressive posture against neighboring countries on issues as the South China Sea.
Xi is scheduled to meet Obama in Washington next Tuesday. He is also scheduled to visit California and Iowa.
The United States would like to get to know Xi in person and build positive relations with him, Da Wei at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations told China Daily.
