US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expects a very positive visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States in September.

Rubio told reporters, following a meeting that lasted more than an hour with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Manila, "We talked a lot about the September visit, and this meeting was simply to pave the way for another successful visit, and I believe President Xi will have a very positive visit when he goes to Washington."

White House Expects the Visit

The Chinese president's visit to the United States has not been officially confirmed, but Rubio clearly indicated that the White House expects it to take place.

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He added, "We have to maintain relations, and obviously there are areas where there are major differences that we will have to overcome. I think these differences will continue for the foreseeable future, and our role, in a sense, is to manage them so that they never get out of control."

Wang urged the United States to respect China's core interests and manage differences in a way that turns this year of opportunity in China-US relations into reality, according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.