Senior US diplomat to visit China amid growing tensions

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s trip comes amid nearly daily new rifts between the two powers including over human rights and cybersecurity.

Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will travel to China this weekend on a visit that comes as tensions between Washington and Beijing soar on multiple fronts, the State Department said. Sherman will meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and others in the northeastern city of Tianjin on Sunday as part of her current trip to Asia, which also is taking her to Japan, South Korea and Mongolia. She will later visit Oman. “These discussions are part of ongoing US efforts to hold candid exchanges with PRC officials to advance US interests and values and to responsibly manage the relationship,” a State Department statement said on Wednesday, referring to the People’s Republic of China.