BEIJING The Chinese foreign ministry said on Thursday a leading official from its department of arms control affairs will lead a delegation in China-U.S. nuclear talks.

The ministry did not name the official.

"Next week in Washington, China and U.S. will hold arms control and non-proliferation consultations at director-general level," spokesperson Wang Wenbin said when asked about a report that China agreed to nuclear arms-control talks with the United States.

According to plans agreed by both sides, Wang said China and the U.S. will conduct dialogue and exchanges on a wide range of issues such as implementation of international arms control treaties.

The talks come days after Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with senior U.S. officials, with both sides agreeing to hold a series of consultations in the near future.

Wang also met with U.S. President Biden in talks that the White House described as a "good opportunity" in terms of keeping lines of communication open between the two geopolitical rivals with deep policy differences.

(Reporting by Laurie Chen; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Sonali Paul and Edwina Gibbs)