Chinese President Hu Jintao will visit Washington state next month, cementing business and cultural ties that could lead to "amazing" expansion of two-way trade, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said Wednesday. The visit, the first to the state by a sitting Chinese president, is April 18 and 19, the governor confirmed. (AP)

Trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) maintained a year-on-year growth of 28.2 percent in the first two months this year, said the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.  Statistics with the ministry show that two-way trade value between China and the ASEAN from January to February reached 21.28 billion US dollars. (Xinhua)