Top US officials will tour major East Asian nations, including China, to discuss issues of trade and security in the region, according to US Departments of Treasury and State.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, continuing efforts to deal with US' huge trade gap with China, will make his third visit to the country next month since joining President George W. Bush's Cabinet in July.

The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that Paulson will meet in Beijing with government officials on March 7 and deliver a major speech on China's capital markets in Shanghai on March 8.

Paulson announced recently he was setting up a telephone hotline to connect him with Vice-Premier Wu Yi, his counterpart in a new high-level dialogue designed to ease trade tensions between the two nations.

Paulson also announced he had tapped Alan Holmer, a pharmaceutical executive and former top trade official in the administration of President George Bush, to be his top deputy overseeing the China discussions. The next meeting of the US-China dialogue is scheduled for May 23-24 in Washington.

Paulson will also visit Tokyo for meetings on March 5 with Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi and Toshihiko Fukui, the head of Japan's central bank.

On March 6, Paulson will meet in Seoul, with top finance officials in the Republic of Korea, Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin said.

The US State Department also said on Wednesday that US Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte will travel to Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea from March 1-6.

(China Daily February 23, 2007)