U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan at the White House for an official state visit Friday.

Obama said ‘Nihao’ in Chinese when opening his welcome speech. Xi said that his ongoing state visit to the U.S. is for peace and cooperation.

“I come to the United States this time to promote peace and advance cooperation,” Xi said in his welcome ceremony speech on the South Lawn of the White House.

“We must uphold the right direction of building a new model of major-country relations, make sure our relationship is defined by peace, respect and cooperation, and see through it that it keeps moving forward on the sound track of steady growth,” he said.

Following the welcome ceremony Obama and Xi continued their three-hour talks from Thursday night in Blair House talks.

The two presidents will exchange views on bilateral ties, domestic and foreign policies, and regional and international situation, to ensure that the new model of major-country relationship between China and the U.S. further develop on a correct track.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama walk to a private dinner near the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, Sept. 24, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama walk to a private dinner near the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, Sept. 24, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

The two sides are expected to reach important agreements on economy and trade, energy, people-to-people exchanges, climate change, environmental protection, finance, science and technology, agriculture, law enforcement, defense, aviation and infrastructure development.

Environment watchers expect Xi’s state visit will bring more good news to China-U.S. collaborations on environment protection and clean technology.

Wu Changhua, Greater China CEO of the Climate Group is a passionate advocate for more joint action.

“The two largest economies, when they join hands, they create probably the biggest momentum towards a ‘clean’ coal revolution,” she said.

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In June 2013, three months after Xi took over the Chinese presidency, he traveled to the U.S. state of California and held a no-necktie summit with Obama, during which they agreed to build a new model of major-country relationship between the two countries.

Obama paid a state visit to China in November, during which they enjoyed an exceptional night stroll in the Zhongnanhai compound in central Beijing. They also met in September 2013 and in March 2014 on the sidelines of two international summits.

Before flying to the U.S. capital, Xi concluded a busy two-and-a-half-day stay in the West Coast technology and aviation hub of Seattle, where he put forward a four-point proposal on the development of the new model of major-country relationship.

He will then travel to New York from Sept. 26 to 28 for a series of summits and meetings marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.

This official state visit reciprocates President Obama’s State Visit to China in November 2014, making it the tenth state affair of the Obama Administration, the White House said.

Compiled from Xinhua, China Daily, CCTV, and AP wires