(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will meet with their Chinese counterparts in Alaska next week, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Blinken and Sullivan’s meeting with Yang Jiechi, a member of the ruling Politburo, and Wang Yi, the foreign minister, would represent the highest-level exchange between the two sides since President Joe Biden took office in January.

Ties between the U.S. and China sank to their lowest level in decades under former President Donald Trump, with both nations ramping up sanctions and tariffs, expelling journalists and closing consulates.

Plans for the meeting were reported earlier by the South China Morning Post. In response to a question about the Post’s report on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the agency didn’t “have any future travel or meetings to announce at this time.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian declined to comment about the report when asked about it at a regular briefing Wednesday in Beijing.

Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are preparing to visit Japan and South Korea next week as part of Biden’s efforts to demonstrate an early diplomatic focus on Asia. Trips over the Pacific Ocean by U.S. officials often involve stopovers in Alaska.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.