Minister Payne builds bridges with US

Defence Minister Marise Payne is set to become the first Australian minister to have a face-to-face meeting with a Trump administration counterpart.

Senator Payne will travel to Brussels on Wednesday for a meeting to discuss the battle against Islamic State.

On the sidelines she will meet with US Defence Secretary James Mattis.

General Mattis is expected to visit Australia later in the year for the annual AUSMIN meeting.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told a coalition partyroom meeting on Tuesday she would travel to Washington shortly for talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who will also attend AUSMIN.

Ms Bishop told the meeting she was detecting a more "nuanced" position from the White House on relations with China.