美国官员强调面对面外交的重要性，因为该国最高外交官准备开始近五年来现任国务卿首次访问中国 - 但坚称他们“清醒”在北京持续侵略行为中改善紧张关系的可能性很大。
据美国官员称，拜登政府强调，尽管该国军方本月早些时候在台湾海峡进行了危险的挑衅，但仍有必要与中国进行 “密集外交”。
“激烈的竞争需要激烈的外交，以确保竞争不会转向对抗或冲突，这就是我们这次访问的意图，”国务院发言人马修米勒周三表示。
旅行时间
上周，白宫发言人约翰·柯比(John Kirby)谴责了几天前在台湾海峡发生的一次近距离通话，当时一艘中国军舰越过一艘美国驱逐舰的船头约150码，五角大楼称此举为“不安全的海上互动”。
美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯最初计划于2月前往北京，但在发现中国间谍气球在美国敏感地点上空盘旋后，拜登政府在最后一刻取消了他的旅行。
在一再表示布林肯的访问将在“时机成熟时”重新安排之后，白宫并没有明确解释为什么现在要推进这次访问。
ABC新闻的玛丽布鲁斯在周三的简报会上问白宫新闻秘书卡琳·让 - 皮埃尔“为什么现在是正确的时间?”。
“我们相信我们处于正确的位置，特别是在总统过去两年所做的工作中。当你看看经济，当你看看竞争，看看我们能够做什么。因此，我们希望继续保持这些开放的对话渠道。这是关于外交的，这就是为什么国务卿周六将前往中国，“让 - 皮埃尔回答道。
乔·拜登总统周四证实，他在访问前已与布林肯进行了交谈，但他不会说他希望国务卿在访问期间能够取得什么成就。
在间谍气球事件发生几个月后，中国监视美国的努力仍然是一个热点问题。本周早些时候，布林肯谈到北京最近曝光的古巴情报收集活动，并声称外交减缓了该国扩大军事力量的努力。
尽管两国关系仍然令人担忧，国务院高级官员预计在不久的将来不会出现转机，但他们表示，直接外交接触仍有好处。
“我们去北京的目的不是为了在我们彼此打交道的方式上取得某种突破或转变，”负责东亚和太平洋事务的助理国务卿丹尼尔·克里滕布林克说。“我们带着现实、自信的态度来到北京，真诚地希望以最负责任的方式管理我们的竞争对手。
布林肯的议程
尽管如此，国务院高级官员表示，布林肯此行有三个明确的目标：保持与中国的沟通渠道畅通以避免潜在的冲突，促进美国的利益和探索潜在的合作领域。
布林肯的一个特别关注领域将是振兴两国武装部队之间的渠道。尽管最近几周外交关系有所回暖，但高级军事官员之间的对话几乎不存在。
上个月，当中国拒绝与国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀(Lloyd Austin)会面和在新加坡举行峰会的邀请时，两国关系的这一方面进一步紧张。
“我们将继续倡导适当的军事接触和对话。我们认为这是保持沟通的基本特征。在危机期间，这些沟通渠道可能至关重要，“总统副助理兼印太事务协调员库尔特·坎贝尔说。
坎贝尔补充说，美国“一贯主张进行这些讨论”，但表示“中国抵制了其中一些努力”。
官员们还表示，中国的芬太尼生产和贩运活动以及在中国被错误拘留的美国公民都将列入布林肯的议程。
尽管布林肯的紧张准备工作已经进行了数周，但他此行的日程安排仍然很大程度上在变化，国务院只确认他预计将与中国高级官员会面。
这可能包括中国外交部长秦刚和王毅 - 中国最高外交官，在间谍气球事件后在德国会见了布林肯。美国官员后来将这种互动描述为非常有争议的。
布林肯是否会在即将到来的访问中与中国国家主席习近平会面尚不清楚。
美中关系的未来
布林肯对北京的访问也可能为最高领导层之间的未来接触铺平道路。拜登和习近平去年11月在印度尼西亚会晤，有人猜测他们可能会在今年晚些时候举行另一次面对面的讨论。
中国外交部试图在布林肯访问之前定下坚定的基调。在宣读国务卿和外交部长刚之间的通话中，该部警告华盛顿“停止干涉中国内政”。
但美国认为中国归类的“内政”是关键的国际问题 - 特别是在中国准备入侵台湾和南中国海时维护台湾和南中国海的和平。美国情报部门表示，中国国家主席习近平正在指示他的军队“在2027年之前做好准备”入侵台湾。
官员们表示，布林肯将在访问期间提出这两个问题，并承诺他将继续“反击”中国在该地区的“挑衅”。
“我认为两岸问题和与台湾有关的问题一直是美国和中国之间最重要、最具挑战性和敏感性的问题之一，”坎贝尔说。
“我认为你可以预料到，就像我与中国参加的每一次双边会议一样，将会就两岸局势进行坦诚的交流，”他补充说。
As Blinken departs for Beijing, US officials 'clear-eyed' about China
U.S. officials are emphasizing the importance of face-to-face diplomacy as the nation's top diplomat prepares to embark on the first visit to China by a sitting secretary of state in nearly five years -- but insisting they are "clear-eyed" about the long odds of improving the strained relationship amid continued acts of aggression by Beijing.
The Biden administration emphasized the need for "intense diplomacy" with China despite the country's military carrying out dangerous provocations earlier this month in the Taiwan Strait, according to U.S. officials.
"Intense competition requires intense diplomacy to ensure that competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict and that's what we intend for this visit," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday.
Timing of the trip
Last week, White House spokesperson John Kirby condemned a close call in the Taiwan Strait that occurred days prior when a Chinese warship crossed just about 150 yards across an American destroyer's bow, a move the Pentagon described an "unsafe maritime interaction."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken's initially planned to journey to Beijing in February, but his travel was scrapped by the Biden administration at the last minute after a Chinese spy balloon was spotted hovering over sensitive sites in the U.S.
After repeatedly saying Blinken’s visit would be rescheduled "when the time is right," the White House isn’t clearly explaining why it’s moving forward with the trip now.
ABC News' Mary Bruce asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre "Why is this now the right time?" during a briefing on Wednesday.
"We believe that we are in the right footing, especially in the work that the president has done the last two years. When you look at the economy, when you look at the competition, and look at what we have been able to do. And so we want to continue to have those open lines of conversation. And this is about diplomacy, which is why the secretary of state is heading is heading to China on Saturday," Jean-Pierre answered.
President Joe Biden confirmed Thursday that he had spoken with Blinken ahead of his trip, but he would not say what he hopes the secretary can achieve during the visit.
Months after the spy balloon incident, China's efforts to surveil the U.S. are still a hot button issue. Earlier this week, Blinken addressed Beijing's recently exposed intelligence-collection activities in Cuba and claimed diplomacy had slowed the country's efforts to expand its military power.
Although the relationship remains fraught and senior State Department officials don't anticipate a turnaround in the near future, they say there are still benefits to direct diplomatic engagement.
"We're not going to Beijing with the intent of having some sort of breakthrough or transformation in the way that we deal with one another," Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink said. "We're coming to Beijing with a realistic, confident approach and a sincere desire to manage our competition in the most responsible way possible."
Blinken's agenda
Still, senior State Department officials say that Blinken has three clear goals for his visit: keeping lines of communication with China open to avoid potential conflict, promoting American interests and exploring potential areas of cooperation.
A particular area of focus for Blinken will be revitalizing channels between the two countries' armed forces. Although diplomatic ties have warmed somewhat in recent weeks, dialogue between high-level military officials has been practically nonexistent.
That facet of the relationship was further strained last month when China rebuffed an invitation to meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and a summit in Singapore.
"We are going to continue to advocate for appropriate military-to-military contact and dialogues. We think that is an essential feature for maintaining communication. And these lines of communication can be critical during a crisis," said Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.
Campbell added that the U.S. has "advocated for these discussions consistently" but said "China has resisted some of those efforts."
Officials also said that China's fentanyl production and trafficking activities would be on Blinken's agenda, as well as the American citizens wrongfully detained in China.
Despite intense preparations that have been underway for weeks, Blinken's schedule for the trip remains largely in flux, with the State Department confirming only that he is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials.
That will likely include China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang, and Wang Yi -- China's top diplomat who met with Blinken in Germany after the spy balloon incident. U.S. officials later described that interaction as remarkably contentious.
Whether Blinken will meet with China's President Xi Jinping during the upcoming trip is still not clear.
The future of U.S.-Chinese relations
Blinken's visit to Beijing could also pave the way for future engagement between the highest levels of leadership. Biden and Xi met in Indonesia last November, and there is speculation they could hold another in-person discussion later this year.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has attempted to set a firm tone in the runup to Blinken's visit. In a readout of a call between the Secretary of State and Foreign Minister Gang, the ministry warned Washington to "stop interfering in China's internal affairs."
But the U.S. sees what China classifies as "internal affairs" as pivotal international issues -- specifically, maintaining peace in Taiwan and the South China Sea as China makes preparations to invade the island nation. U.S. intelligence has indicated Chinese President Xi Jinping is instructing his military to "be ready by 2027" to invade Taiwan.
Officials said Blinken would raise both matters during his visit and promised he would continue to "push back" on China's "provocations" in the region.
"I think cross-strait issues and issues related to Taiwan have always been among the most important and challenging and sensitive issues between the United States and China," Campbell said.
"And I think you can anticipate, as has been the case in every bilateral meeting I've been in with the Chinese, that there'll be a candid exchange on the cross-strait situation," he added.
