Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with China’s chief, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Friday, as the 2 nations labored to carry collectively a fractious relationship regardless of disputes over the financial system, nationwide safety and geopolitical frictions in East Asia, the Center East and Ukraine.

Each China and america have mentioned they have been hoping for progress on a couple of smaller, pragmatic fronts, together with enhancing communications between their militaries and easing journey between the nations. However they continue to be at a standstill on basic strategic points, together with commerce insurance policies and territorial conflicts within the South China Sea and over Taiwan.

And with different disputes looming, each side acknowledged the hazard of the connection sliding into additional battle.

The Biden administration is deeply involved that low-cost Chinese language exports are threatening U.S. jobs, and is nervous about China’s assist of Russia within the Ukrainian struggle. And China has accused america of working to encircle Chinese language pursuits within the Pacific.

Earlier within the day, Mr. Blinken spent greater than 5 hours with China’s overseas minister, Wang Yi, in conferences and at a working lunch on the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Wang struck a considerably extra conciliatory tone than prior to now, telling Mr. Blinken that “the China-U.S. relationship is starting to stabilize,” and that its future would depend on the choices of each nations. Throughout Mr. Blinken’s go to final 12 months, Mr. Wang had laid blame for the deterioration of ties with america, which he mentioned wanted to “mirror upon itself.”

However Mr. Wang additionally warned on Friday that the unfavorable elements within the relationship have been “rising and constructing.”

“The connection is going through all types of disruptions,” Mr. Wang mentioned. “China’s reputable improvement rights have been unreasonably suppressed and our core pursuits are going through challenges.”

Mr. Blinken responded that he hoped to maneuver ahead on agreements on subjects together with counternarcotics and issues of safety relating to synthetic intelligence.

“I hope that we are able to make some progress on the problems that our presidents agreed we should always cooperate on, but additionally make clear our variations, our intent, and make very clear to one another the place we stand,” Mr. Blinken responded.

U.S. officers need China to make progress on stemming the stream to america of chemical substances used to make fentanyl, and to strengthen communication between their militaries, amongst different targets. Chinese language officers mentioned they needed to advertise extra cultural exchanges between the nations, and press america to finish interrogations of Chinese language college students on the border.

Regardless of the trouble being put in by each side to enhance relations, extra elements look like driving the 2 nations aside than preserving them collectively. Geopolitical disputes over Ukraine and the Center East have offered new challenges. And with an election approaching in america, the Biden administration is below stress to supply extra protections for American factories in opposition to Chinese language imports.

In current weeks, U.S. officers have begun extra urgently elevating considerations about China’s financial help to Russia, saying they view that assist as a pivotal issue in the middle of the struggle. They’ve held out the potential of additional sanctions, together with on Chinese language banks.

In a briefing with reporters in mid-April, a senior Biden administration official mentioned that China had supplied Russia with important portions of semiconductors, drones, machine instruments and a flamable materials known as nitrocellulose. These merchandise are serving to to fill essential gaps in Russian provide chains that may in any other case cripple their struggle effort, inflicting the Russian protection sector to develop extra rapidly than American officers had believed potential.

And in a government-sponsored export management convention held in Washington on the finish of March, officers with the Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence instructed executives at American tech corporations that China had not too long ago taken the lead within the nations’ long-running protection business analysis collaborations, which in previous many years had been led by Russia.

China has denied offering weapons for Russia’s struggle effort, which Washington has mentioned could be a purple line. In any other case, although, Chinese language officers have proven little inclination to reduce their ties with Russia. On Thursday, quickly after Mr. Blinken arrived in Beijing from Shanghai, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia introduced that he would go to China in Could, in probably his first abroad journey since securing re-election final month.

China has not but confirmed the go to. However when Mr. Xi met with Russia’s overseas minister in Beijing earlier this month, Mr. Xi mentioned that he and Mr. Putin had agreed to “keep shut contact to make sure the sleek and secure improvement of China-Russia relations.”

America has little leverage with which to affect China’s dealings with Russia, mentioned Maria Papageorgiou, a lecturer on the College of Exeter in England who research Sino-Russian relations. China has been cautious to not overtly aspect with Russia within the struggle, giving itself believable deniability. And even when america threatens extra sanctions on Chinese language corporations, China has discovered methods to bypass them earlier than, she mentioned.

If something, China would solely make its assist for Russia “extra toned down,” she mentioned.

American officers have mentioned they’re coordinating with Europe to stress China on Russia, however the Chinese language authorities is taking its personal steps to shore up its ties in Europe. Mr. Xi earlier this month hosted Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who highlighted Germany’s dedication to doing enterprise with China.

Commerce frictions between the nations additionally proceed to simmer, as American officers weigh including new tariffs on Chinese language imports and proscribing extra exports of U.S. expertise to China out of nationwide safety considerations.

Financial ties between the nations have lengthy supplied a supply of energy for the connection, some extent Mr. Blinken reiterated whereas assembly with enterprise executives in Shanghai on Thursday.

However with an election looming in america, and the potential prospect of a return of Donald J. Trump to the presidency, financial points might flip extra explosive.

To attempt to jump-start the financial system, Mr. Xi and different Chinese language leaders are stoking manufacturing facility manufacturing and exports. However American leaders imagine they have to shield U.S. manufacturing, notably the brand new factories making semiconductors, photo voltaic panels and automotive batteries that the Biden administration is investing tens of billions of {dollars} on this 12 months.

China is aware of that it probably has little room to sway america on commerce, given the American home political scenario, mentioned Xie Tao, the dean of the Faculty of Worldwide Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing International Research College. As an alternative, the Chinese language authorities appears to be placing its give attention to people-to-people exchanges, Professor Xie mentioned. Chinese language media has continuously raised Mr. Xi’s objective, introduced after the summit close to San Francisco final 12 months, of inviting 50,000 younger Individuals to go to China.

“The Chinese language authorities is absolutely investing loads of power in shaping the longer term technology of Individuals’ view of China,” he mentioned.