BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States are in close touch for Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to the U.S. in January, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday.

Jiang said President Hu's visit will be a major event of the China-U.S. relations in the new era, and China hopes the visit could further push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relations.