“That was one of the things that President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping agreed to when they met last year in San Francisco: We have to find ways to make our relationship as stable as possible,” Blinken said during the meeting with business leaders. According to a statement released by the US Department of State, Blinken added: “We have to make sure that the relationship is functioning the way it needs to function for the benefit of both of us.” “It’s important for us to hear what’s working, what’s not working, and also for us to be able to raise any concerns that we have,” Blinken said in remarks before the meeting with business leaders. The diplomat also met with Shanghai party chief Chen Jining earlier in the day, who stressed the importance of cooperation between the two countries for the “well-being of the two peoples” and for the “future of mankind”. “The relationship has not always been smooth, there have been ups and downs, but overall it has progressed and advanced with the development of history,” the Shanghai party chief said, according to a statement released by the US Department of State. Referring to the San Francisco summit and a recent phone call between the two countries’ leaders, the Chinese politician said that these meetings “lay a very important foundation for further advancing bilateral ties”. Blinken praised Shanghai’s development as an “economic and commercial centre” and stressed the importance of “continued direct engagement” between the two nations. “We have an obligation to our people and indeed an obligation to the world to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” the US Secretary of State said. The trip comes after a series of political wins for the top US diplomat on areas of contention between Washington and Beijing, including Senate approval of a foreign aid package that will provide billions of dollars in assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as forcing Chinese-owned TikTok’s parent company to sell the short-form video platform. Still, Blinken’s decision to make the trip is seen by analysts as a sign that the two sides are willing to discuss their differences. The bill sets aside $8 billion in military support for Taiwan and other measures to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific and gives Chinese company ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, with a possible three-month extension if a sale is in progress. Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday to meet with local officials and business leaders before travelling to Beijing on Friday. Read Also: Blinken aterra em Xangai para segunda visita à China em menos de um ano (Portuguese version)