BEIJING -?Chinese President Xi Jinping met with visiting US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Saturday, discussing US President Donald Trump's state visit to China later this year.

"Currently the most important event in our bilateral relations is President Trump's China visit in November," Xi said. "His visit will be a major opportunity for the development of China-US relations."

Xi said China-US ties had been generally stable, and that he had maintained sound communication with President Trump.

Chinese and US teams should implement consensus reached by the two heads of state, grasp the direction of bilateral relationship, respect each other, and focus on cooperation while dealing with differences properly, Xi said.

"China attaches great importance to President Trump's visit, and I look forward to working with him to outline and advance our bilateral relations in the years to come," Xi said.

He said the teams on both sides should work closely to make the visit "successful and special."

Tillerson conveyed Trump's greetings to Xi, saying the US president looks forward to his visit to China.

Hailing the progress in US-China relations under the auspices of the two presidents, Tillerson said the United States values its relations with China and hopes to increase mutual trust and practical cooperation in various areas as well as to jointly tackle international and regional challenges.