Washington (CNN) Secretary of Defense James Mattis and China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe are set to meet this week after talks between the two were canceled at the end of last month.

A previously planned meeting in Beijing between the two defense chiefs was called off amid US-China tensions surrounding the Trump administration's sanctioning of Beijing over its purchase of Russian weapons systems.

The Chinese government requested the meeting, according to senior Department of Defense officials traveling in Asia with Mattis.

"The fact that he's meeting with Minister Wei is some evidence that the Chinese are interested in keeping things normal and stable as are we," US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver told reporters traveling with Mattis.

Schriver said that the Chinese requested the bilateral meeting, which will take place on the sidelines of the ASEAN-led forum in Singapore.

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