国际英语新闻:Xi looking forward to meeting with Obama

BEIJING, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday said he was looking forward to a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in The Hague, Holland.

The meeting on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit next week will be the first between the two presidents this year.

Xi also welcomed Obama to attend the summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Beijing in November.

Xi made the remarks during a meeting with the U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, in the company of his wife Peng Liyuan, at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in downtown Beijing.

Noting the China-U.S. relations were very important to both countries and the world, Xi said he cherished "the sound working relationship and personal friendship" he had already established with President Obama.

He added that they keep close communication through meetings, phone calls and letters, and believes bilateral ties would keep moving forward towards a new type of relationship with joint efforts from both sides.

Xi welcomed Michelle Obama to visit China and asked her to convey his greetings and best wishes to President Obama.

Conveying her husband's greetings to Xi, Michelle Obama said it was rare for her to travel overseas with her mother and daughters, especially to China.

She also thanked Xi for meeting her and Peng's invitation, as well as China's warm reception.

On Friday morning, Peng, Michelle Obama, her daughters Malia and Sasha and her mother Marian Robinson visited the Second High School attached to Beijing Normal University, a model senior high school in Beijing.

In the school, the two first ladies joined students' robot, Chinese calligraphy and table tennis classes, in which Michelle Obama watched students build robots, then tried to write Chinese characters with an ink brush, followed by table tennis.

Peng also took a brush and wrote a four-character Chinese aphorism on virtues and gave it to Michelle Obama as a gift.

Michelle Obama told Xi and Peng in their meeting that she encouraged her daughters and U.S. youngsters to know more about other countries' tradition and culture.