Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China’s President Xi Jinping and other Beijing officials as differences between the two nations grow on a number of issues. 

Blinken said he outlined the U.S. worries with China, mentioning Beijing’s backing of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has surpassed the two-year mark, and Taiwan.

“Russia would struggle to sustain its assault on Ukraine without China’s support,” Blinken said to reporters following the meeting.

The areas where the United States and China can work together seem to be shrinking fast, and the risks of confrontation are growing. But it was clear on Friday that both countries are trying to salvage what they can.

Preserving some semblance of cooperation — and the difficulty of doing so — was at the heart of a meeting between Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing on Friday. It was the latest effort by the rivals to keep communications open even as disputes escalate over trade, national security and geopolitical frictions.

China is making “attempts to influence and arguably interfere” in the 2024 elections in the United States, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a diplomatic tour to the communist country.

President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday, marking the first conversation between the leaders since their historic in-person summit in November and the latest in ongoing efforts by US and Chinese officials to defuse tensions between the two superpowers.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden spoke by phone on Tuesday, as the two countries sought to make headway in their limited areas of aligned interests amid heightening tensions between the two powers.

“The two heads of state had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on Sino-US relations and issues of common concern to both sides,” state news agency Xinhua reported.

President Biden held a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since July 2022 on Tuesday, the White House announced.

The White House has yet to offer details about the call, but Biden and Xi were expected to discuss Taiwan, narcotics, artificial intelligence, and China's support for Russia against Ukraine. The White House described the conversation as merely a "check-in" between the two leaders.

U.S. business leaders met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, the latest of Beijing’s efforts to bolster foreign investment in China amid tensions with the U.S.

Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman, Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon, Bloomberg Chair Mark Carney and FedEx President Rajesh Subramaniam were among the attendees, according to state media.

The companies did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.