The US State Department has announced Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China and Britain from Friday through next Wednesday.

Blinken will meet with senior Chinese officials in Beijing. The State Department says he will discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the US-China relationship.
It will be his first trip to China as a top US diplomat.

Blinken was originally scheduled to visit China in February. But the trip was postponed after an alleged Chinese spy balloon flew over US territory.

In London, Blinken will attend the Ukraine Recovery Conference to help mobilize international support to assist Kyiv's efforts to recover from Russia's ongoing invasion.