Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to the US in September, China's foreign ministry announced Wednesday, as both leaders expect further progress in bilateral relations while citing concerns in a telephone call.

In a telephone conversation between Xi and US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, the two leaders highlighted the development of a bilateral investment treaty, and pledged to sustain the momentum in Sino-US relations, jointly tackling climate change and global security challenges.

Xi asked the US to take steps to loosen limits on high-tech exports to China, and to make it easier for Chinese enterprises to invest in the US, two of the major challenges in bilateral trade.

Xi also said that he hopes the US will pay attention to China's concerns over issues related to Taiwan and Tibet, to "avoid unnecessary interference to Sino-US relations."

China expressed strong opposition last week to Obama's welcome of the Dalai Lama at a prayer breakfast.

For his part, Obama called on China to narrow differences on cyber issues, the White House said in a statement, a topic China did not specify in its statement.

China's prompt response to last week's US invitation showed that diplomatic communications between the two countries remain smooth and that they understand the importance of a positive attitude toward bilateral relations, analysts said.

The latest US National Security Strategy, which was released by the White House on Friday, described the scope of cooperation with China as "unprecedented" even as the US "remains alert to China's military modernization." It stated that the US welcomes the rise of a stable, peaceful, and prosperous China and seeks to develop a constructive relationship with China.

This year is highly significant in pushing forward the Sino-US relationship, and tangible breakthroughs on issues with consensus, including climate change and the bilateral investment treaty, can be expected at the September meeting, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

"The two sides need concrete outcomes to demonstrate that the new type of major power relationship would work," said Li.

The two countries have been making concrete progress in anti-corruption law enforcement. Following a January meeting, senior US officials will meet their Chinese counterparts again in August to discuss the possibility of repatriating Chinese officials who have fled to the US with billions of dollars of allegedly stolen government assets, Reuters quoted David Luna, the US State Department's senior director for National Security and Diplomacy, as saying.

Luna said there is no formal agreement to return stolen assets to China, but the issue is "part of an ongoing bilateral dialogue, there are ongoing cases, and it is a priority," according to the report.

In the next seven months, the two countries also need to lay out strategies on controversial issues, including cyber security, maritime disputes in the South China Sea and the North Korean nuclear issue during the visit as they are crucial in advancing the new type of relations, Li said.

Critical events, such as Iran nuclear talks and China's commemoration event on September 3, including a reported military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), will also influence the meeting.

Discussions on how to deal with historical perspectives of Japan, a close US ally, to reinforce the postwar international order and secure regional safety in East Asia, will be a test for the leaders' wisdom, Zhu Feng, a professor of international security at Nanjing University, told the Global Times.

As China's fourth head of State to pay an official state visit to the US, Xi has developed a good personal relationship with Obama since taking office through a casual meeting in California in 2013, and Obama's China visit in November last year.

The Xi-Obama meeting itself is significant as the role of the countries' leaders is critical in keeping Sino-US relations on track, especially in setting the tone in critical times, Yuan Peng, the deputy director of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.

A good and stable relationship with China would benefit Obama's political and diplomatic legacy, especially in light of the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, which brings greater opportunities for Sino-US relations, Yuan said.