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The US has ruled out cancelling the scheduled state visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping as demanded by Republican presidential candidates and said it will use the occasion to narrow differences with China.
"I can tell you that we have high-level interactions, such as next month's visit, precisely so that we have the opportunities for the President to resolve, or, if not possible, narrow our differences with the Chinese," White House Deputy Press Secretary Eric Schultz said.
The occasion would be used by the US President, Barack Obama to convey its message and areas of concerns to the Chinese leadership.
Dates of Xi's visit to the US next month have not been announced yet.
"It is through engagement with China that the United States has been able to make progress on issues that are important to US businesses and to the American people -- from increasing access to the Chinese market for US firms, to securing an ambitious climate change agreement," Schultz said.
He was responding to questions on demand being made by Republican presidential candidates to cancel Xi's State visit next month.
"The President is going to speak candidly about the differences we have in this exceptionally and admittedly complex relationship. But the President in last year's visit to China didn't pull any punches, and I wouldn't expect him to this fall either," the White House official said.
