John Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, will visit South Korea and China this week to discuss coordination on countering climate change.

According to the State Department on Tuesday, Kerry is scheduled to visit China and South Korea from Wednesday to Saturday. A diplomatic source in South Korea said Kerry will arrive in Seoul on Saturday for talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong.

The visit comes days ahead of a virtual climate summit of 40 world leaders set to be hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden from April 22 to 23. President Moon Jae-in is expected to attend.

Chung and Kerry spoke twice last month, where the two agreed to reinforce cooperation to fulfill their countries’ respective carbon neutrality goals.

They also agreed to create synergy for multilateral cooperation by linking the upcoming climate summit with Seoul's hosting of the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030(P4G) Summit in May.

Meanwhile, Kerry's China visit is drawing much attention as he will be the first high-level official from the Biden administration to visit China amid prolonged tensions between the world's two major powers.