US, Chinese foreign ministers to meet at G20 this week

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the Group of 20 meeting of foreign ministers in Bali this week, the State Department said on Tuesday.

The meeting, during Blinken's Wednesday through Monday Asia trip, would be the latest high-level contact between US and Chinese officials as US President Joe Biden weighs lifting US tariffs on some Chinese goods to curb inflation.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Monday and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan met last month with China's top diplomat Yang Jiechi in Luxembourg.

Biden is considering scrapping tariffs on a range of Chinese goods to curb surging inflation in the United States before November midterm elections for control of Congress.

The White House has said there is no deadline for Biden's decision, but Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are also expected to speak in coming weeks.

Foreign ministers from the G20 biggest economies (G20) will meet on the Indonesian island of Bali on Thursday and Friday before the G20 leaders' summit in November, also in Indonesia.

Blinken will also meet with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi during his trip, the State Department said.

The top US diplomat "will reinforce our commitment to working with international partners to confront global challenges, including food and energy insecurity and the threat Russia's continued war against Ukraine presents to the international order," the department said in a statement.

In a stop in Bangkok, Blinken will meet with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, it said.