U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Beijing Wednesday morning for the fourth round of the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED).

The top U.S. diplomat and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, special representatives of U.S. President Barack Obama, will join Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo, special representatives of Chinese President Hu Jintao, to co-chair the annual meeting from Thursday to Friday.

Geithner is scheduled to arrive in Beijing Wednesday afternoon.

The S&ED, initiated in 2009, aims to advance the construction of the China-U.S. bilateral cooperative partnership, deepen communication and coordination on macroeconomic policies and major issues in the world economy, boost economic and trade cooperation and enhance communication on international and regional affairs.

During her stay in Beijing, Clinton will also co-chair with Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong the 3rd U.S.-China High-Level Consultation on People-to-People Exchange, an event to be held alongside the S&ED.