The coming summit between Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama will be a great success and of great significance for bilateral relations at a new phase, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in Washington on Thursday.

"In two weeks' time, President Hu Jintao and President Obama will meet in London. It will be the first meeting between our heads of state since the new U.S. administration came into office, "Minister Yang said, while addressing a luncheon meeting at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in downtown Washington D.C.

"Both sides attach great importance to this meeting and are making intensive preparations for it. I am confident that with joint efforts of the two sides, the meeting will be a great success and chart the course for the future growth of China-U.S. relations," the minister said.

Yang said that President Hu has invited President Obama to visit China at a mutually convenient time and the Chinese side looks forward to his early visit.

Due to joint efforts by the two sides, Yang said, solid ground works have been done for the China-U.S. summit in London when leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) gather in the British capital to discuss how to tackle the ongoing global financial crisis and economic downturn.

"The priority for China and the United States at the moment is to tackle the international crisis through intensified cooperation and work together to maintain and promote world financial and economic stability," the Chinese minister said.

Since the outbreak of the financial crisis, he said, China and the United States have engaged in close and effective communication and coordination, and played an important part in the international efforts to tackle the crisis.

He said China is ready to strengthen macroeconomic policy dialogue with the United States, work with the U.S. side to oppose protectionism, and make fresh contributions to the stability of international financial markets and growth of the world economy.

Yang added that the Chinese side also wants to work with the U. S. side and other countries for positive outcomes at the London G20 summit scheduled for early April on the basis of the achievements of the Washington summit held in November last year.

"In times of hardships, it is all the more important for China and the United States to broaden and deepen bilateral trade and economic cooperation, properly handle possible frictions and differences, and forge a stronger bond to weather the crisis," Minister Yang stressed.

Yang is here on a five-day working visit as guest of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The major purpose of his visit is to make preparations for the China-U.S. summit in London.

(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2009)