Informal communications between Xi and Obama

President Xi Jinping meets with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague on March 24, 2014.

Obama's invitation to Xi 'rare' move

President Xi Jinping held phone talks with his US counterpart, Barack Obama, and accepted the latter's invitation to pay a state visit to the United States in September.

The invitation has been extended seven months ahead of visit, a rare move in the diplomacy between head of state. State visit is usually announced one or two months earlier, according to Chen Mingming from China's Foreign Ministry, who said the unusual announcement shows that both sides attach great importance to the bilateral ties.

During Wednesday's conversation, the two leaders agreed to work together to facilitate steady and healthy growth of China-US relations while promoting the development of a new type of major-country relationship.