Chinese President Xi Jinping will make his first state visit to the United States in September, the Associated Press said based on Chinese media reports.

Xi accepted President Barack Obama's invitation when the two spoke on the telephone overnight, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. The planned visit points to "positive momentum" in the sometimes difficult relationship between Washington and Beijing, the AP judged.

Obama and Xi met in 2013 in an informal summit at the Sunnylands estate in Rancho Mirage, California, and the American president last traveled to Beijing in November to attend the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. During the APEC event, the two leaders held a separate day of meetings, the news service recalled.

The 61-year-old Xi, who also serves as secretary-general of the Communist Party of China, assumed his country's presidency in November 2012. His program has so far been marked by an emphasis on further free-market reforms, as well as a campaign against corruption.

During their phone conversation, Xi told Obama that he aspires for the two countries to make progress on some of the more controversial issues that have plagued their relationship in the past, Reuters noted.

Xi "hopes the U.S. side can pay attention to China's concerns on the Taiwan and Tibet issues, and prevent China-(United States) relations from suffering unnecessary interference," China's Foreign Ministry detailed.

Beijing had reacted angrily last week when Obama met with the Dalai Lama on the sidelines of the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington. The interaction with the Tibetan spiritual leader "severely harms the mutual trust between China and the United States and downgrades Obama's credit as a national leader," Beijing had charged via state media.

Other issues that complicate the agenda include accusations of cyber-espionage, China's territorial aspirations in waters also claimed by U.S. treaty partners Japan and the Philippines, as well as past American weapons sales to Taiwan, Fox News and Reuters enumerated.

But China and the United States work together on some international issues, including efforts to curb the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea, according to the news agency.

In their call, Obama and Xi "reaffirmed their commitment to coordinate closely on security challenges, including by jointly encouraging Iran to seize the historic opportunity presented by (the current) negotiations," the White House said in a statement.

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