U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will visit China from May 31 to June 2, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told a regular press briefing Tuesday.

As a special envoy of U.S. President Barack Obama, Geithner would visit China at the invitation of Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who is a special representative of Chinese President Hu Jintao, Ma added.

"The two sides will exchange views on issues of common concern," Ma said, adding that those issues included the international financial situation, bilateral cooperation in coping with the financial crisis and preparations for the first round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue.

The new mechanism was upgraded from the Strategic Dialogue and biennial Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), which were initiated by the two heads of state in 2005 and 2006, respectively.

The Strategic Dialogue, co-chaired by a Chinese state councilor and a U.S. deputy Secretary of State, focused on political and strategic issues in the development of bilateral ties.

The first round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue will concentrate on economic and financial topics including energy,environmental protection, intellectual property rights and services.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2009)