Beijing: China said on Saturday that two US diplomats will visit this coming week to discuss the two countries' relations, which have been strained recently on several issues.
The statement posted on China's Foreign Ministry Web site quoted spokesman Qin Gang as saying Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and Senior White House Asia adviser Jeffrey Bader will be in China from Tuesday through Thursday.
The statement said the US asked for the meeting but didn't say which Chinese officials would be meeting with them. Such diplomatic visits usually are announced first by the host country.
Ties between the world's largest and third-largest economies have been strained after the US announced planned arms sales to Taiwan in January and President Barack Obama met with Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama this month.
Such tensions risk complicating the cooperation the US seeks from China on a range of global issues ranging from the financial crisis to climate change. Chinese President Hu Jintao is also expected to visit Washington this year.
China has also been on the defensive after Google announced in January that its e-mail accounts were hacked from China. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton shortly after that criticised the censorship of cyberspace, and China's Foreign Ministry said her remarks damaged bilateral relations.
The two countries also have disagreements on economic issues, including currency and trade disputes.
"We hope the friction will calm," Premier Wen Jiabao said on Saturday.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, February 28, 2010, 09:26