China will ask the US to lift the sanctions the country has placed on subsidiaries of China's biggest shipping company, Cosco, when the two parties sit down Thursday to begin a two-day meeting in Washington, reports Bloomberg citing people familiar with the process who decline to be identified.

Official trade representatives from China plan to raise the matter of sanctions imposed on the Dalian businesses under China Cosco Shipping, which the US accuses of having breached the restrictions against carrying Iranian oil.