Best way to stabilize relations would be US demonstrating some sense, correct sensibility

In an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that the United States is attempting to strengthen "lines of communication" with China to avoid conflict between the two powers and "working to put some stability into the relationship".

If that is the case, the Joe Biden administration should be working hard to translate those words into action. Channels of communication were shut down while the US indulged itself in a frisson of excitement over the so-called spy balloon. Thanks to the efforts of both sides, they are open again now, as evidenced by the almost back-to-back visits to China by three high-ranking US officials, including one by Blinken himself in June.

Yet given the US' predilection for saying one thing and doing another, it needs to do more to ensure that the positive upturn in relations generated by these visits gains the necessary traction.