American lawmakers visiting China

United States Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other senior American lawmakers will visit China next week.

"(We) hope that this visit will enhance the US Congress's objective understanding of China," Beijing's foreign ministry said Wednesday in a statement as it "welcomes" the visit.

The ministry said it hopes the trip will "promote dialogue and exchanges between the legislative bodies of the two countries, and inject positive elements into the development of China-US relations."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Climate Envoy John Kerry also visited China earlier, seeking to defuse tensions across a range of security and economic issues that have been at their highest levels in years.

Schumer is set to be accompanied on the trip by Republican colleague Senator Mike Crapo, Bloomberg reported.

The six-person delegation is hoping to secure a meeting with President Xi Jinping, US media reported, and will seek to raise issues ranging from the climate for US businesses in China to human rights.