In an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that the United States is attempting to strengthen "lines of communication" with China to avoid conflict between the two powers and "working to put some stability into the relationship".

If that is the case, the Joe Biden administration should be working hard to translate those words into action. Channels of communication were shut down while the US indulged itself in a frisson of excitement over the so-called spy balloon. Thanks to the efforts of both sides, they are open again now, as evidenced by the almost back-to-back visits to China by three high-ranking US officials, including one by Blinken himself in June.

Yet given the US' predilection for saying one thing and doing another, it needs to do more to ensure that the positive upturn in relations generated by these visits gains the necessary traction.

True, the administration is still griping about Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu's refusal to meet US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in June. But this is entirely of its own doing. It should lift the unwarranted sanctions it has imposed on China's defense chief to show it is sincere about trying to cultivate the right atmosphere for high-level military-to-military exchanges.

The current difficulties afflicting bilateral ties have been created by the US side by and large. It is not China that started the trade war between the two countries, nor is China suppressing the development of US tech companies. The Chinese military is not conducting so-called freedom of navigation operations off the US coast, nor is China meddling in the US' internal affairs. And it is not China that is hyping up the need for countries to de-risk in order to create the impression of covert threats, nor is China reshaping supply chains to be exclusionary.

If it feels that its leadership is under threat, then Washington should step up to the plate and demonstrate its leadership capabilities by rallying countries to the cause of realizing the 17 goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as these are the real and common challenges countries face.

There are more than enough problems in the world for it to get its teeth into; there is no need for Washington to fabricate imaginary ones. Getting itself into such a tizzy over China is the outcome of domestic political struggle in the US. Having long been made a scapegoat for the US' woes, the anti-China sentiment in Washington has taken on a life of its own.

Members of the two governments have now had enough interactions to know each other better, and the latest official interaction also indicates both countries are now ready to move on from the freezing point. With consensus being built over the necessity to better manage their differences and prevent competition from spiraling out of control, the Biden administration should proactively work with Beijing to foster practical cooperation. Not least because it might bring some in Washington to reason. That would help stabilize relations.