BEIJING - Chinese President Hu Jintao will pay a state visit to the United States from January 18 to 21 at the invitation of US President Barack Obama, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei announced Friday.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on Thursday that Chinese President Hu Jintao's upcoming state visit to the United States will promote further growth of Sino-US relations in the new era.

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Yang made the remarks when addressing at the luncheon organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank headquartered in New York.

Yang said that Hu's upcoming state visit to the US, conducted on the occasion of the 40th-anniversary of the restoration of China-US contact and at the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, would promote further development of a positive, cooperative and comprehensive bilateral ties in the new era.

With joint efforts from both sides, Yang said, the visit will effectively boost the practical cooperation between both countries, enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples and have a major positive impact on safeguarding world peace, stability and promoting common development.

US participants to the luncheon said the relationship between the US and China is of vital importance to both sides and the world at large. They expressed the hope that the positive, cooperative and comprehensive bilateral relationship will continue and expand.

Describing President Hu's upcoming state visit to the US as an event of great significance in bilateral relationship, they said they expect the visit to be a complete success.

On Wednesday, Yang met with former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in New York and attended a dinner hosted by Kissinger. He also met with US people of various walks of life and held candid and in-depth talks with them on bilateral ties.