US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo today began her talks with Chinese officials stressing that Washington considers it essential that the two powers have a stable economic relationship.

Mrs. Raimondo is on a three-day visit to China, for contacts with officials and businessmen. She is scheduled to hold talks with her counterpart Wang Wentao for about two hours today.

The minister’s visit is part of the recent effort by the administration of US President Joe Biden to restore high-level contacts with China, with a series of visits by top officials to Beijing, starting with that of the head of US diplomacy Anthony Blinken in mid-June.

The specific trip was intended for the two powers to turn the page on the most recent episode that raised the tension between them to the skies, the case of the Chinese hot air balloon that the US called “spy” and sent an F-22 fighter to shoot it down in February.