Early in the Biden administration, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed that the United States would only hold talks with China if they led to "tangible outcomes" to resolve disputes between the strategic rivals. Two-and-a-half years later, that approach appears to have changed.
Since the start of the summer, the administration has embarked on a largely unreciprocated push to talk with Beijing, establishing working groups and sending three cabinet-level officials and its top climate envoy to Beijing.
The strategy, intended in part to salvage a relationship that fell to a dangerous level earlier this year when the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon, could lead to a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, their first in a year. "The goal truly is channels of communication and ensuring we don't veer into conflict - simple as that," said a senior Biden administration official. "Temperatures are lower than they were."
But critics say the approach carries its own risk: that the talks and working groups will only pull focus away from - and possibly delay - sanctions, export controls and competition.
"The return to high-level economic dialogues is a win for China, especially as Beijing continues to stonewall and gaslight on military risk reduction, cyber theft, and human rights," said Ivan Kanapathy, a former White House National Security Council deputy senior director for Asia.
China is a daunting diplomatic challenge for the United States. The Biden administration wants to counter the country's growing military without provoking a conflict and to push back on what it considers unfair business practices while avoiding an all-out trade war.
Officials say they are imposing tough measures when necessary while reiterating that the U.S. is open for dialogue to keep relations stable.