Amid escalating Sino-U.S. tension, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is set to visit China this weekend.

According to the State Department on Wednesday, Sherman will visit China from Sunday to Monday, where she will hold talks with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Tianjin.

The deputy secretary will be the highest U.S. official under the Biden administration to visit China.

Following a public blowup at the March meeting of foreign ministers and top security advisers in Alaska, the U.S. continued to slap sanctions on China for human rights abuses and draw up alliance-based anti-China strategies.

While it seems unlikely that Sherman's trip will help ease the bilateral tension, the two sides are expected to discuss cooperation in resolving the North Korea and Iran issues, as well as tackling climate change.

There is also speculation that the visit could pave the way for a foreign ministers' meeting or even a leaders' summit in the near future.