Chinese President Hu Jintao delivers a speech at a welcome luncheon hosted by U.S. friendly organizations in Washington, the United States, Jan. 20, 2011. [Lan Hongguang/Xinhua]

Also on Thursday in Washington, Hu delivered an important speech at the welcoming luncheon hosted by friendly organizations in the United States.

To advance the sustained, sound and steady development of China-U.S. relations serves the fundamental interests of peoples of China and the United States, he said.

"It is also conducive to world peace and development," Hu said during his speech.

Hu elaborated on the domestic and foreign policies of the Chinese government and on how to advance China-U.S. relations in the new era during his speech.

"Working together hand in hand, we will build and develop a China-U.S. cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and benefit and deliver greater benefits to the people of our two countries and the world over," he said.

The Chinese president traveled to Chicago on Thursday afternoon after concluding activities in the U.S. capital.

In Chicago, Hu met local officials and visited a U.S. high school.