China US

Top White House officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan had revealed in their latest public remarks the genuine possibility for stable China-US relations and the potential for more China visits by senior US officials. But some Chinese observers pointed out on Sunday that Washington's sincerity is still to be tested.

Given that Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and former US diplomat Henry Kissinger have visited China on successive trips since last month, the next senior White House official to land in China could be commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, some Chinese observers predicted. 

Considering the two sides have achieved limited success in bridging differences despite recent visits to Beijing by three US cabinet-level officials, and most of the US officials' remarks over bilateral ties are still considered lip service, a possible trip by the US commerce secretary is expected to be the touchstone of Washington's sincerity, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"It was important to us to put some stability back into this [China-US] relationship, to put a floor under it, to make sure that the competition that we're clearly in doesn't veer into conflict, which would not be in our interest, not be in anyone's interest," Blinken told the NBC News at Aspen Security Forum Fireside Chat on Friday US local time.

"I anticipate other cabinet members will be going - and Chinese counterparts will be coming to the US," he revealed.

Blinken defended Washington's contacts with Beijing recently, saying they are essential. He also noted that China and US have mutual interests in some areas and they can find ways to cooperate.

Also at the Aspen Security Forum, Sullivan said that continuing diplomacy could address the rivalry between the two countries. "There is a genuine possibility for a stable relationship, even though that relationship is inherently competitive…" he noted.

It is notable that the Biden administration has toned down its offensive rhetoric over China ties - from chanting "confrontation" to "not seeking conflict" as Washington has realized that the stakes are too high for both countries if bilateral relations remain at rock bottom, Lü said.

But he pointed out that China's concern is that although some senior White House officials have expressed their hope for stabilizing ties, little concrete action is being taken by Washington to repair them.

"It's reasonable to assume that Commerce Secretary Raimondo could be the next US official to visit China," Lü said. If Raimondo does come, the two sides are anticipated to talk about trade issues, and China would be able to discern Washington's attitude over the various trade restrictions against China, Lü believes.

According to Reuters, Raimondo said on Friday that she plans to visit China later this year. "We need to be ferocious in the way we protect American national security but also deescalate tension where we can and look for ways that we can work together," Raimondo said.

Different from the previous US officials' China visits, the potential Raimondo trip could be a touchstone of Washington's sincerity, Lü said. He noted that from this perspective, Raimondo's trip would be of great importance to distinguish whether Washington wants to justify its restrictions against China on trade, high technology and other fields or it is willing to relax some irrational measures targeting China. 

"We need to be more patient now - neither blindly optimistic about China-US relations, nor doing anything to push relations further down the valley," Lü noted.