The upcoming visit to China of US President Barack Obama's top security adviser will help pave the way for a potential meeting of the Chinese and US leaders and provide an opportunity to raise issues of contention between the countries, specialists said.

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice is expected to reduce the recent turbulence in the relationship, including the tension caused by US reconnaissance flights along China's coast in late August.

This will be Rice's first trip to China as the top security adviser, and her heavyweight role in the Obama administration cannot be ignored, observers said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang confirmed on Wednesday that Rice will visit from Sunday to Tuesday at the invitation of State Councilor Yang Jiechi. There will be an "exchange of views on the China-US relationship and other important issues of mutual concern", Qin said.

Yuan Peng, a US studies expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said what is behind the security adviser's visit is the ongoing efforts by both countries to "drag the relationship back on track".

Rice's trip "comes before Obama and President Xi Jinping potentially come face-to-face at the UN General Assembly later this month and meet again at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in China in November", AFP said.

Her visit - in the capacity of a core designer of the Obama administration's security policy - is surely aimed at "making preparations for Obama's visit to China", and the trip will give her a chance to get a full understanding of China, Yuan said.

"She will underscore the US commitment to building a productive relationship between our two countries," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement released on Tuesday.

In Washington's eyes, China has been showing "increasing assertiveness" in the South China Sea because of its growing strength, Chinese experts observed.

There has been "a surging frequency and intensity of Washington's strategic initiatives and actions recently targeting China", said Shi Yinhong, a professor of Sino-US relationship studies at Renmin University of China.

The recent US reconnaissance incident 220 km from Hainan Island has led to several rounds of barbs by foreign affairs and defense authorities.

Liu Xuecheng, a researcher of US studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said, "While bickering between the two powers is somewhat common, it is of great urgency to get disputes under control."

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn