Trump's visit set to boost ties

US president's trip to include signing of major business deals

US President Donald Trump's first state visit to China, which will start on Wednesday, is expected to yield positive results for bilateral ties, with a number of major business deals due to be signed, said officials and analysts.

It will also be the first visit by a foreign head of state to China since the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which ended in Beijing last week, at which the new CPC Central Committee was elected.

In a phone conversation on Thursday, State Councilor Yang Jiechi and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson exchanged their views on the preprations for Trump's visit. They agreed to enhance communication and coordinate closely to ensure the visit yields positive results.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said Trump's state visit to China, from Wednesday to Friday, was at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will lead a business delegation during Trump's visit, and the two sides will sign a number of deals, said Fu Ziying, China's international trade representative and vice-minister of commerce.

"We expect that through President Trump's visit, the two sides will achieve positive, pragmatic, mutually beneficial and balanced results," Fu said at a news conference on Thursday.

The trade imbalance between China and the US, the world's two largest economies, is largely caused by US curbs on exports of many high-tech products to China, he said, adding that Sino-US trade is completely determined by the markets and consumers of the two sides.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, US exports to China grew by an average of 11 percent over the past decade, much higher than the overall growth of 4 percent in US exports during the same period.

During Trump's visit, the leaders of the two countries will "have an in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and major international and regional issues of mutual concern", added Lu, the Foreign Ministry spokesman.

China stands ready to work with the US side to secure important outcomes in order to inject fresh and strong impetus into bilateral relations, he added.

Ruan Zongze, executive vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said that as China has entered a new era, Trump's visit will bring more opportunities for China-US relations.

"Through the form of a 'state visit plus', the two sides will have in-depth and candid exchanges to boost mutual understanding and control disputes," he said.

Jin Yong, deputy head of the School of International Studies at the Communication University of China, said that through the visit, the two sides are expected to reach greater consensus on issues related to trade and the Korean Peninsula.