Ted Stevens, president pro tempore of the US Senate, will head a delegation to pay an eight-day official goodwill visit to China from Aug. 1 at the invitation of Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC).

The delegation will include Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, according to sources with the NPC Standing Committee.

During this visit, Chinese leaders will meet with the delegation, and the first formal talks between the NPC, China's top legislative body, and the US Senate will also be held since the two sides set up an exchange mechanism.

Besides Beijing, the delegation is also scheduled to visit Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

The delegation is the highest-ranking one from the US Congress to visit China in nearly seven years, and its visit will be an important high-level contact between China and the United States this year.

It will play a positive role in further enhancing contacts and dialogues between the NPC and the US Senate, and promoting Sino-US relations, analysts said.