U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at the White House to discuss bilateral relations and other issues of mutual concern.

Yang is here on a five-day working visit as guest of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The most important purpose of the visit, Yang said earlier Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is to make preparations for the meeting between Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Obama in London in early April.

This will be the first summit between heads of state of the two countries since the new U.S. administration came into office in January.

"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, when addressing a luncheon meeting at the CSIS.

Yang is expected to meet with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden later on Thursday.

Source: Xinhua