The US announcement follows comments by a senior White House official that China wants stabilized relations with the United States in the short term as it faces domestic economic challenges and pushback in Asia to its assertive diplomacy, Reuters reported.
US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping engaged in blunt talks over Taiwan and North Korea on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in mid-November, a meeting aimed at preventing strained US-China ties from spilling into a new Cold War.
The two leaders pledged more frequent communications at a time of simmering differences also on human rights, the Ukraine war, and economic issues.
The State Department said the delegation will follow up on the meeting "to continue responsibly managing the competition between our two countries and to explore potential areas of cooperation" and will also lay the groundwork for Blinken's visit.
RHM/PR