A bipartisan delegation of US senators arrived in Shanghai on Saturday on the first leg of a three-nation tour in Asia.

Led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the six senators are scheduled to visit China, Japan and South Korea.

The delegates held talks with Shanghai's Communist Party chief Chen Jining, who is also a member of the party's top decision-making Politburo Standing Committee.

Schumer stressed that US companies should be allowed to compete as freely as domestic companies in China.

He said that the two countries speaking to one another candidly, frankly and respectfully is very important.

He added, "After all, we are the two greatest economies in the world and we prove to the world that we are able to get along."

US media say that the delegation is seeking a meeting with President Xi Jinping during the visit.

President Joe Biden has said that there is a possibility that he and his Chinese counterpart will meet next month in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

A key question is whether the US senators will meet Xi before a possible US-China summit next month.