BEIJING, Oct 12 (Reuter) - China's president and Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin will leave on October 21 to address the United Nations' 50th anniversary commemoration in New York and meet U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Chen Jian said on Thursday Jiang would make an "important speech" to the U.N. General Assembly on October 24 but gave no schedule for the Clinton meeting.

The Sino-U.S. summit is seen as a chance to repair relations that plunged to a 16-year low in June after Washington allowed a visit to the United States by President Lee Teng-hui of Taiwan, China's Nationalist arch-rival.

Beijing withdrew its Washington ambassador and railed for weeks against what it called U.S. collusion with forces trying to "split" China by achieving diplomatic recognition or even sovereignty for Taiwan.

Beijing regards Taiwan as a rebel province.

Deep frictions remain over U.S. policy towards Taiwan and Tibet as well as disputes over China's soaring trade surplus and market barriers and its controversial military exports, nuclear weapons programme and human rights record.

Washington agreed to a summit after Beijing dropped its demand that Jiang be accorded the 21-gun salutes, state banquets and other pomp of a formal state visit. It settled for an official working visit.

REUTER