That the Sino-US relationship is fraught, to say the least, is undeniable. Likewise, that the two sides are making efforts to prevent relations from being strained to breaking point is self-evident. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is the latest Joe Biden administration official to visit China as the two sides seek to strengthen communication to ease the frictions that have been producing sparks in what has become a potentially explosive environment.

Although Raimondo said that she wanted to discuss "concrete ways" that the two sides can work together to accomplish business goals, her exchange of views with Chinese officials has been about more than just boosting commerce.

That she met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vice-Premier He Lifeng, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Culture and Tourism Minister Hu Heping indicates that there have been broad discussions on the state of relations, both sides' concerns, and the moves each side thinks the other should make to stabilize and improve relations. The essence of this is that both sides think the other should do more to match their words with actions — Raimondo calling for a predictable and fair regulatory environment for US businesses in China and her Chinese hosts calling for an end to the discriminatory subsidies and sanctions targeting Chinese companies.

The recent spate of visits by senior officials in the Biden administration to China is potentially a positive development as it reflects that the US side has recognized that in trying to hurt China, it is also harming the US. "We can't drift to a place of greater conflict. It's not good for the US, it's not good for China, it's not good for the world," Raimondo acknowledged.

If her visit is a marker that the US side has finally grasped this fundamental fact, then there are indeed grounds for her upbeat words of farewell regarding the agreements reached to continue dialogue on the tough issues between the two sides. "I am leaving with some optimism," she said.

Since she also said she had not expected any breakthroughs on the issues affecting US companies such as Intel, Micron, Boeing, Visa and Mastercard during the trip, but did hope to "see some results" in the coming months, presumably that means there will similarly be some moves in relation to the concerns expressed by her Chinese hosts.

That the two sides are hoping to pave the way and create a conducive atmosphere for a possible meeting between the leaders of the two countries at the APEC leaders' meeting in November in the US, gives added impetus to their efforts to ease tensions and carry out pragmatic cooperation.

Nonetheless, for any sustainable improvement in relations to be realized, the US side must demonstrate that its measures supposedly targeting actions and behavior that undermine US national security are not, as Raimondo claimed, simply targeting China with the aim of curtailing its development.