Shanghai, China - In the midst of a diplomatic tour of China, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for Washington and Beijing to set aside their "differences" and strengthen ties between the two superpowers.

Having landed in Shanghai on Wednesday, Secretary Blinken brought out the soft diplomacy big-guns – a basketball game in the evening, and a visit to NYU's Shanghai campus to speak with students and meet business leaders.

Yet, it was statements he made in a press conference that yielded the most hope for defrosting relations between the two country's vertically-opposed governments, as Blinken said that both nations had an "obligation" to manage their relationship "responsibly."

Chinese-American relations went through a particularly rocky period under President Donald Trump. Despite attempts by the Biden administration to stabilize the relationship, there has been a steady increase in rows over the last few weeks.

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After the US held trilateral talks with the Philippines and Japan, joint military drills with the former have taken center stage as China's opponents "prepare for war." All the while, Beijing has repeatedly criticized the US and its allies for making the region "less stable."

Now, in a three-day diplomatic blitz of Shanghai and Beijing, Blinken intends to mend the relationship while touching on various sources of tension with President Xi Jinping and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"I think it's important to underscore the value – in fact, the necessity – of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them," Blinken said in a statement to the press.

"We have an obligation for our people – indeed an obligation to the world – to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly. That is the obligation that we have and one that we take very seriously."

Blinken also took to social media to announce that China and the US will work together to curb fentanyl trafficking, saying that President Biden and President Xi had "agreed to cooperate" in cutting the trade of the deadly drug.

The Secretary of State also reiterated that he'll be talking to people who are dedicated to "building bridges and ties between our countries" before admitting that there will also be discussions on areas of "real differences with China."

For their part, Chinese authorities have seemed to welcome the tone of Blinken's statements, a measure of soft diplomacy that has contrasted with claims made mere days ago by the secretary himself that China should be held responsible for Russian actions in Ukraine.

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"Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries, and the future of humanity," said Chen Jining, the Chinese Communist Party's secretary for Shanghai.

"President Xi Jinping recently had a phone conversation with President Biden, where the two leaders candidly exchanged views on China-U.S. relations and issues of common concern in depth. It continued the stabilization of our two countries' relationship. This forms a very important foundation for us to continue to strengthen the bilateral ties."