When Secretary of State Antony Blinken sets off on his second trip to China in less than a year, the top U.S diplomat will have his work cut out for him as he tries to deliver a message of both cooperation and competition amid growing disagreements between the rival superpowers.
From Ukraine and Taiwan to the South China Sea and the Middle East, the list of bilateral and global issues on the agenda will be long, with Blinken set to hold three days of meetings with senior Chinese officials starting Wednesday in a bid to manage the increasingly tense relationship.
But while crucial for keeping lines of communication open, the visit is unlikely to yield major breakthroughs, as neither side appears willing to give in on key issues of contention.