U.S. Congress welcomes Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit later this month, Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said on October 9.

Gingrich made the remarks to Liu Huaqiu, director of the Office of Foreign Affairs under China's State Council, who arrived Washington on October 8 to further prepare the grounds for Jiang's visit.

At the meeting on Capitol Hill, Gingrich told Liu that U.S. congressional leaders will jointly host a breakfast in Jiang's honor, hoping his visit will achieve positive results.

Jiang's visit will be the first by a Chinese head of state to the United States in 12 years. Late Chinese President Li Xiannian visited Washington in 1985.

In his meeting with Gingrich, Liu expressed the belief that U.S. Congress will continue to work for the success of President Jiang's upcoming visit.

The Chinese official also held talks today with U.S. President's Assistant for National Security Affairs Samuel Berger, who invited him to come here for a preparatory tour.

Berger said the United States attaches great importance to Jiang's visit and President Bill Clinton is looking forward to meeting his Chinese counterpart in this U.S. capital.

He hoped the visit will be successful and further improve Sino-U.S. ties.

Liu said that Jiang's visit is of tremendous significance and will surely produce "positive and profound" impact on the bilateral relationship between the two countries.