Antony Blinken to travel to China early next month: US State Department

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China early next month and the details of his visit are being worked out, an official spokesperson said.

The challenge that North Korea poses to the Indo-Pacific region and beyond will be on the agenda when the secretary of state visits Beijing, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at his daily news conference on Wednesday.

"The Secretary has said for a number of weeks now that he will travel to the PRC (People's Republic of China) early this year. Now that we are in early 2023, I would expect that the secretary will have an opportunity to travel to Beijing next month," Price told reporters.

"The details of that visit are still being worked out," he said.

Though the dates of Blinken's visit to China have not been announced yet, a Politico report said he is likely to be in Beijing on February 5 and 6.

Price further said, "I would imagine if and when Secretary Blinken does travel to Beijing, he will have an opportunity to meet with several interlocutors to discuss the broad array of issues that forms the basis of what is arguably the most consequential bilateral relationship in the world."