By Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA (AA) – Top US diplomat Antony Blinken is due to arrive in China on Sunday amid diplomatic tension between Washington and Beijing.

Blinken will be the first US secretary of state to visit China since former top diplomat Mike Pompeo’s trip in 2018.

The two sides will raise issues of bilateral concern, discuss global and regional matters, and the Chinese side will also expound on its position and concerns on China-US relations and "resolutely safeguard its own interests," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday, according to state broadcaster CGTN.

On Wednesday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that Blinken will meet with senior Chinese officials in Beijing where he will discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-China relationship.

"He will also raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges," said Miller.

Earlier, Blinken's planned visit in February to engage in discussions with his recently appointed counterpart was deferred after a dispute arose concerning a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that was detected above US airspace.

However, it's not confirmed that the US top diplomat will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping during his stay in Beijing.

On Tuesday, Blinken also held a phone call with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in preparation for his visit.

During the conversation, Qin told his counterpart that the bilateral ties are facing “new difficulties,” and urged Washington to “stop interfering” in its internal affairs.

“The US is urged to take practical actions to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state and the relevant commitments made by the US and effectively manage differences and get China-US relations back on track to healthy and stable development,” Qin was quoted as saying in the readout from Beijing.

Clarifying China’s firm stance on core issues, including on Taiwan, the Chinese foreign minister emphasized that the US “should stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop harming China’s sovereign security and development interests in the name of rivalry.”

The latest development comes after China earlier this month rejected a request by the US for a meeting between the defense chiefs of the two countries on the sidelines of an annual security forum in Singapore.

The three-day 20th Shangri-La Dialogue summit was attended by top defense and security officials, including US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu, who shook hands at the opening reception.

However, later the US State Department Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, and National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Sarah Beran visited Beijing and met with China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and Director General of the North American and Oceanian Affairs Department Yang Tao.

Both sides said that they had candid and productive discussions.

-Support to South Korea

Meanwhile, Blinken on Saturday supported South Korea's efforts to improve its relationship with Beijing in a phone conversation with his counterpart ahead of his visit to Beijing, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said, according to Seoul-based Yonhap News.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Blinken held a phone conversation earlier in the day and touched on various topics, ranging from Seoul's ties with Washington and Beijing to Beijing's relations with Washington and North Korea affairs, according to the ministry.