Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, shakes hands with Hao Peng, Chinese communist party secretary of the northeastern province of Liaoning, in Seoul, April 24, in this photo provided by the foreign ministry. Yonhap

Korea and China are in talks to arrange a visit to Beijing by Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul next month, diplomatic sources said Sunday.

The two sides have been discussing possible dates for Cho's visit, which would come before an expected trilateral summit among Korea, China and Japan in Seoul in late May, according to the sources.

It would be Cho's first visit to the neighboring country as foreign minister and follow a February phone call he had with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during which Wang invited Cho to visit Beijing and Cho agreed to discuss the matter via diplomatic channels.

The move came as the two countries navigate ways to improve their relationship following tensions over Taiwan and Chinese Ambassador to Seoul Xing Haiming's controversial remarks.

In June last year, Xing said that those who "bet on China's loss" in its rivalry with the United States "will definitely regret it." The remarks were seen as a warning to Seoul against aligning itself with Washington.

Last week, Cho held talks in Seoul with Hao Peng, Chinese communist party secretary of the province of Liaoning.

Strengthening ties with Beijing has been considered a critical diplomatic task for the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, as it has focused on strengthening the Korea-United States alliance, repairing ties with Japan and bolstering trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan in its first two years in office. (Yonhap)