The Biden administration and Chinese Communist Party officials are discussing a possible trip by two Cabinet secretaries to China.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo could soon travel to China, National Security Council coordinator John Kirby told reporters on Monday.
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"We're having discussions with the PRC right now about [a] potential visit by Secretary Yellen and Secretary Raimondo to go over there and talk about economic issues. So there's that that we're still working," he said. "So, all of that, keeping those lines of communication open, are still valuable."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to travel to China in early February, but the trip was postponed when the public became aware of a Chinese spy balloon traversing across the continental United States, which the military ultimately shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.
"We still want to get Secretary Blinken back to Beijing," Kirby added. "That visit was postponed. It wasn't canceled. And we're still hopeful to get that back on the calendar."
Since then, U.S. officials have begun warning the public and world leaders that Beijing is considering, but hasn't committed to, providing Russia with lethal aid for them to use in Ukraine. Officials have argued that doing so would not be in their best interests.
"We're hoping to get the economic lines open. The military-to-military lines are not open, and that's a problem," he explained. "That was, as you know, one of the things we were hoping Secretary Blinken would get thawed for us because they are frozen."
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in late February that he and his Chinese counterpart, Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe, have not spoken in “a couple of months,” noting the week before that it fits a pattern of Chinese officials "shut[ting] down their military channels of communication" when "something happens.”
China is increasingly aligning itself with Russia and against the West, and Xi is cementing that relationship with his first trip to Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine more than a year ago. Xi arrived on Monday, and both leaders talked about their shared goals globally in public comments.
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Beijing released an extensive peace plan to end the war, though it effectively awards Russia with the land it's occupying in Ukraine, which Kyiv has repeatedly said is a nonstarter in any diplomatic efforts to end the war.
"China's already issued a 12-point plan for the conflict in Ukraine, which includes an essential point, and that's respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries," Kirby added. "We encouraged President Xi to advocate for this exact essential key point, which must include the withdrawal of Russian forces from sovereign Ukrainian territory."