As the clock ticked down to the China-US summit in Beijing later this month, Chinese vice foreign minister Li Zhaoxing met top US officials in Washington to make final preparations.

Li met Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy Richard Armitage on February 5, and Vice President Dick Cheney dropped by his meeting with National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice on the day before, officials said.

Li's two-day visit to Washington featured talks on all pertinent issues in China-US relations, which are showing signs of improvement after a turbulent first year of Bush's presidency.

Talks between Li and the top officials also cover human rights and trade, a White House official said.

Bush arrives in Beijing for a one-day visit on February 21, exactly 30 years after one of his predecessors, Richard Nixon, held epochal talks with Chinese leader Chairman Mao Zedong.