United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in Hawaii, to try to ease frictions over various issues between the world's two biggest economies, media reports say.
Pompeo was "quietly" preparing the outing, although the plans were not yet finalized. Politico first reported the state secretary's trip, citing two sources with knowledge of the plans, Friday.
The US official has been very vocal in questioning China on a number of topics - from the roots of the coronavirus pandemic to its stance on Hong Kong.
According to a US official who is familiar with the trip, the meeting will take place at Hickam Air Force Base. Pompeo will be in Hawaii only for around 24 hours on the ground, a source said.
Chinese officials have denounced the US over George Floyd 's killing and the unrest it has triggered in many states, leading Pompeo last week to call their efforts "laughable propaganda." The Chinese foreign ministry in turn described Pompeo's remarks as laughable, CNN's Kylie Atwood reported.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, tensions have escalated between Beijing and Washington. The US became the country with the most recorded cases and fatalities after China first announced an initial outbreak.
The US Department of State and the Chinese consulate in Washington did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post quoted an anonymous source as saying that Yang, a state councilor and member of China's Politburo Communist Party, would lead the Chinese side to the meeting.
In other developments, Marshall Billingslea, the top nuclear negotiator of the US State Department, is set to meet with Russian counterparts in Vienna later this month to tackle arms control. On Twitter, Billingslea said the Chinese had been invited to join the discussions, but the Chinese had said they would not participate.
Meanwhile, three American aircraft carriers patrol the Indo-Pacific waters for the first time in almost three years, a massive display of naval power in a sign that the US Navy has emerged from the darkest moments of the global health crisis.
The deployment of three carrier strike groups in the area is unusual due to the limited number of carriers and the fact that they frequently rotate to other parts of the world through repair schedules, port visits, or training.
Nevertheless, Navy commanders last week disclosed that they were able to take advantage of the timing, particularly during this time of great power rivalry with China.
