On Thursday, the Chinese embassy in Washington announced that China’s commerce minister would visit the U.S. next week to meet with the commerce secretary and Washington’s top trade official as the U.S. works to repair relations with Beijing.

At a Chinese embassy online conference with media, Liu Pengyu said Beijing was open to all levels of contact with the U.S., but only with mutual respect.

The Chinese embassy afterward emailed that both sides were still debating the arrangements.

A source familiar with the meetings said Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao was due to meet with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington next week before heading to Detroit for APEC trade ministers meeting.

On May 25–26, Wang would meet with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.

Tai and Raimondo’s offices declined to comment.

Washington wants high-level meetings with China to prevent tensions from escalating.

A senior U.S. official said President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi last week in Vienna, and both sides agreed to move past an alleged spy balloon incident that strained relations.

Biden has been trying to schedule a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but neither side has provided an update.

Blinken postponed a February trip when the U.S. shot down a Chinese balloon over critical military locations.

“It is imperative for the U.S. side to adopt a correct perception of China and we hope the U.S. will return to a rational and pragmatic China policy for the two countries to better develop themselves and prosper together,” Liu told reporters.

Liu said China and the U.S. should implement what Xi and Biden agreed on at their November meeting and correctly handle difficult topics like Taiwan, the democratically self-governed island claimed by China.

On Thursday, the U.S. and Taiwan signed an initial trade accord, likely angering China, which views Taiwan’s official contact with other nations as infringing its sovereignty.

“China is open to communication at all levels and cooperation across the fields with the United States, but only on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,” Liu stated before the trade deal was revealed.

He suggested that the U.S. and China “create favorable conditions for the future interactions between the two presidents.”

Republican senators and other Biden administration critics have questioned high-level discussions with Beijing, noting that decades of engagement have failed to shift China’s stance on trade, security, and human rights problems.

Blinken, Raimondo, and Yellen want to visit China.