US Secretary of State Pompeo to visit China on Oct 8 for talks to defuse tensions

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit China on October 8 to hold talks with top Chinese leaders amid escalating tension between the world's two largest economies over trade and Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Announcing Pompeo's visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement on Wednesday that China and the US will exchange views on bilateral ties and regional and international issues of common concern.

The visit comes amid reports that China has cancelled talks with US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis after the US' allegations that Chinese naval ship conducted unsafe manoeuvres near its destroyer Decatur when passed through the islands off the disputed South China Sea to assert freedom of navigation.

Hua, however, said it was Washington which proposed the postponement of the second round of their Diplomatic and Security Dialogue and refuted recent US media reports that China had proposed putting off the dialogue.

"Such an argument completely distorts the fact with ulterior motives and is extremely irresponsible," she said. "The Chinese side expresses strong dissatisfaction."