An announcement in this regard is likely to be made shortly, officials said. Clinton's first foreign trip is aimed at reaffirming close ties with Japan and South Korea, and at dealing the complex relationship with China.

State Department spokesperson Robert Wood said that the US policy towards China is being reviewed by the new administration. He said the State Department would play an important role in shaping the US-China relationship.

"You can expect that the Department of State is going to have a very important role in our bilateral relationship with China," he said.

Responding to a question, Wood said: "It's a very complex relationship, and it's very broad. We have to look into review process. We're going to be looking at it to see what we can do to broaden that relationship even more. It's growing all the time. And it's a very strategic and important one for us."

Also on Tuesday, the Secretary of State would be meeting with the British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and the German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier. These would be her first meetings with her foreign counterparts.

Woods said several issues of mutual interest including Afghanistan would come up for the discussion when Clinton meets her British and German counterparts.