The staff member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide further details on the trip, which will be the first by members of the lower house of Congress since 2019.
Smith told NBC News that he wants to foster dialogue between Washington and Beijing.
"Merely talking with China is not endorsing everything that they do. It's like China is a big, powerful country. We are a big, powerful country. I think we need to talk about that," the lawmaker told the channel, adding that it is currently unclear if they will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Smith is the seniormost Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. Its chairman, Republican Mike Rogers, is not participating in the trip, according to NBC.
News of the visit comes as the United States and China work to negotiate a deal to end the bruising trade war between the two countries, which have extended a truce on most reciprocal duties to November 10 as they continue talks.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has imposed tariffs on almost all US trading partners, with a 10-percent baseline level and higher rates for dozens of economies including the European Union and Japan.
He also slapped separate tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China over what he said was the flow of deadly drugs into the United States.
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