National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon, pictured in May, will head to China on Sunday, in the wake of Beijing and Moscow's veto of a UN resolution on Syria, and will also visit Japan, the White House has announced. - WASHINGTON (AFP)

A top aide to US President Barack Obama will head to China on Sunday, in the wake of Beijing and Moscow's veto of a UN resolution on Syria, and will also visit Japan, the White House has announced.

National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon's talks in Beijing will include a meeting with State Councilor Dai Bingguo, a high-ranking official whose brief is heavily focused on China's foreign policy.

Donilon will address "the current and future state of US-China relations," and cooperation on "challenges of mutual concern, including nonproliferation, regional security in Asia and the Middle East," a White House statement said.

The US diplomat will then travel to Tokyo for talks with senior Japanese officials on security cooperation and other bilateral issues, it added.