Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing will attend the state funeral of former US President Ronald Reagan on Friday at the National Cathedral in Washington.

Liu Jianchao, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a regular press conference Thursday, that Li would attend the funeral as the special envoy of President Hu Jintao.

Reagan, who served as the 40th US president from 1981 to 1989, passed away at the age of 93 at his home in California on Saturday after a decade-long struggle with Alzheimer's disease. US President George W. Bush and an array of world leaders are expected to attend his funeral.

Chinese President Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing sent messages of condolence to their US counterparts respectively last Sunday.

In the messages to US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, Hu and Li also expressed sympathy to Reagan's wife, Nancy, and his relatives.