When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken touches down in China on Sunday for the first visit by the top American diplomat in nearly five years, the bar for success will be low for both Washington and Beijing as they look to at least prevent ties from bottoming out.
Blinken is due to visit Sunday and Monday, meeting with senior Chinese officials to "discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage” the relationship, according to the State Department.
But top U.S. officials agreed ahead of the trip that while there is a "significant and substantive agenda," there is a "need to be realistic" about what can be achieved.