China will build a new embassy in the US capital of Washington, D.C., the Chinese embassy in the United States announced in a statement on Tuesday.

The Chinese side is making preparations for the start of the construction, the statement said.

The site of the planned new building, which is expected to havea floor space of 30,000 square meters, is about three km from the present embassy.

The statement didn't disclose how much the new embassy will cost and when the construction will start, but said the construction will last about three years.

China and the United States have reached agreement on building a new embassy in each other's capital after negotiations, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the new US embassy in China was held in Beijing early this year, according to the statement.

em>Source: Xinhua