XINING, July 29 (Xinhua) --- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson arrived in Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province Sunday evening, kicking off his "environmental tour" in the country.

    Paulson's tour in Qinghai, home to China's largest salt water lake Qinghai Lake, includes visiting local environmental protection programs. He will also visit some rural households in the remote province on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, dubbed the "roof of the world".

    As special representative of the U.S. President, Paulson will visit China from July 29 to Aug. 1 to exchange views on the process of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao announced on Thursday.

    Collaborating on energy and environmental challenges is one of the key focuses of the U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) launched by U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao last year, which was established to provide a focused and effective framework for addressing issues of mutual concern.

    Before flying to Xining, Paulson had made a brief stopover in Beijing on Sunday afternoon. He will return to Beijing on Tuesday. President Hu Jintao will meet with him and Vice Premier Wu Yi will hold talks with him as Hu's special representative.

    This is Paulson's second visit to China this year, following his short tour in March.