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CHENGDU - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in China's earthquake-devastated south-west on Sunday to offer support to victims, ahead of official talks in Beijing, officials said.
Dr Rice landed in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, to visit areas hit hard by the massive May 12 earthquake that left up to 88,000 people dead or missing and up to five million homeless, US officials said.
Dr Rice, the highest ranking US official to visit the disaster zone, will tour the city of Dujiangyan, near the epicentre of the quake.
She will head to Beijing to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi later on Sunday, US and Chinese officials said. Dr Rice will hold talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on Monday.
The United States has joined international relief efforts to fly life-saving supplies to the region where towns and villages were flattened by the 8.0 magnitude quake.
Dr Rice was travelling from South Korea as part of an Asian tour that included Japan last week where she attended a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations. -- AFP
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