United States Deputy State Secretary Wendy Sherman will head to China next week to meet with Chinese officials, as tensions between the two countries deepen on multiple fronts, the State Department said.
During the visit, China's Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, who oversees China-U.S. relations at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, will hold talks with Sherman, Global Times said.
Later, Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet Sherman, according to the report.
Sherman, the U.S.' second-highest diplomat, is expected to raise an array of concerns with Wang and other officials in the northeastern port city of Tianjin Sunday.
Sherman's China visit is part of her current trip to Asia, which also is taking her to South Korea, Japan and Mongolia and Oman.
In their meeting, the Foreign Ministry said China will express its position on the development of China-U.S. relations with a firm attitude to safeguard its security, sovereignty and development interests.
China's Foreign Ministry said it will demand the U.S. to stop intervening in China's internal affairs and harming China's interests, GT reported.
In a statement Wednesday, the State Department said the talks were part of "ongoing U.S. efforts to hold candid exchanges with Chinese officials to advance U.S. interests and values and to manage the relationship."
Sherman's trip to China marks the second time the world's two biggest economies hold high-level, in-person talks since President Joe Biden took office.
In 2016, then-Deputy Secretary Antony Blinken visited China and met with Wang and Executive Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui.
The tension between China and the U.S. soared under the Trump administration, which started a trade dispute and worked to ban Chinese technology companies from doing business in the U.S.
Biden has previously said his approach to China would be different from Trump's in that he would work more closely with allies in order to mount pushback against China, The Associated Press said.
