Preparations for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to the U.S. are proceeding as scheduled, despite recent tensions between Washington and Beijing, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, according to dpa.

“We anticipate that the visit will take place in September,” Rubio told reporters on Sunday at Andrews Air Force Base before departing for the Philippines to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

Rubio also said that Chinese officials continue to send teams to prepare for the visit.

“I haven’t heard anything to the contrary. I have no reason to believe they won’t come,” he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump accused China on Thursday of interfering in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.

Beijing rejected the accusation.

Trump visited Beijing in May and invited Xi to the White House for a return visit on September 24.

Rubio stated that disagreements are inevitable between major powers such as the United States and China, but emphasized that both countries have a responsibility to maintain dialogue and relations for the good of their peoples and the world at large.

An opportunity for discussions could arise as early as Tuesday at the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in the Philippine capital, Manila.

According to media reports, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are also expected to attend the meeting.

When asked if he plans to hold bilateral meetings with them on the sidelines of the summit, Rubio declined to confirm, but said he was willing to meet with his Chinese and Russian counterparts.

AGERPRES