WASHINGTON – The chief executive of the United States Chamber of Commerce, Ms Suzanne Clark, is leading a delegation of former US government officials to Beijing this week, the group said.

The group will meet senior Chinese government officials and local business leaders, as well as American business executives and foreign diplomats, according to a representative of the chamber, the leading group representing business interests in the US.

The visit comes as the US and China gradually resume engagements after the two economic superpowers' most tense relations in years, at loggerheads over the future of democratically ruled Taiwan, territorial claims in the South China Sea, and trade policies.

Ties are still recovering after the US downed an alleged Chinese spy balloon a year ago.

US and Chinese top military officials spoke for the first time in more than a year in December 2023.

Meetings between US Treasury and Chinese financial officials in Beijing in January concluded with both sides agreeing to continue to meet regularly, the Treasury Department said.

US officials also indicated that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen looked forward to a return visit to China at an “appropriate time”, the department said. REUTERS