U.S. President Barack Obama, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 12, 2014. File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning his first official state visit to the United States later this year.

Chinese ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said a date will be released after completing ongoing discussions with the White House.


Neither country will risk harming relations by engaging in major confrontation, according to the China Daily. Analysts say the majority of discussion may center around Asia-Pacific issues, with the possibility of reducing mutual distrust. Issues such as cybersecurity may also be discussed.

U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice said the United States invited Xi, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Indonesian President Joko Widodo for state visits.

Recently, the United States and China have been working together on issues including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change.

"The world is looking for the partnership between the United States and China to solve many of the problems," Gary Locke, former U.S. ambassador to China, said recently.

The last time Xi was in the United States was for an informal summit in June 2013 and the last time Xi met with President Barack Obama was in November 2014 in Beijing.