United States President Barack Obama will visit China from Nov. 15 to 18 at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said on Thursday.

The heads of states will discuss bilateral ties and major international and regional issues of common concern in Beijing, Ma said in a statement.

President Obama will also visit China's economic hub of Shanghai, where a Disneyland project has just got approval from the central government, in his first trip to China since taking office a year ago, according to Ma.

A series of economic, trade and military meetings between Chinese and U.S. senior officials in recent weeks have warmed up Obama's China tour while difference in some sectors remain.

On the 20th China-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade talks in China's eastern city of Hangzhou last week, senior Chinese and U.S. trade officials pledged not to stage any new trade protection measures against each other.

Meanwhile, Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, agreed with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to further military-to-military cooperation and reached some agreements in Washington, including the exchange of warships visits and joint maritime search and rescue drills.

The two countries, as the world's No. 1 and No. 3 economies, have also cooperated in tackling the global financial crisis and both voiced objection to trade and investment protectionism.

China and the United States also kept contact on some major international and regional hot issues.

The two countries, however, still have to find better ways to settle trade disputes and further cooperation on climate change, human rights and some other international affairs, analysts believe.

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