Raimondo has been at the forefront of White House efforts to curb Beijing’s access to advanced technology. She is aiming to travel to China the week of August 21, although the dates are not finalised, sources said.

US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo is planning to visit China in late August, according to people familiar with the matter, part of the Biden administration’s effort to reduce tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Raimondo is aiming to travel to Beijing the week of August 21, although the dates are not finalised and could shift, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss her plans.

It is also still unclear what Raimondo could expect to deliver for US businesses, the people said, and the commerce chief is hesitant to go without knowing that the trip will yield positive outcomes for American firms.

The Commerce Department’s press office declined to comment on trip timing and did not respond to questions about the topics Raimondo would want to discuss with her counterparts.

She said at an event in Washington last week that she plans to go to China “later this summer” but is “still finalising a date and plans”.

Raimondo, whose emails were hacked earlier this month in a breach tied to China, has been at the forefront of White House efforts to curb Beijing’s access to advanced technology, including export controls announced last year.

Her trip could come at a sensitive time in the bilateral relationship, with Biden set to sign an order curbing critical US technology investments in China by mid-August.

On her first trip to China as commerce secretary, Raimondo would be the fourth high-level member of US President Joe Biden’s administration to visit since June, following Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry.

The earlier visits by top administration officials have yet to deliver significant public results beyond agreeing to further dialogue.

The White House is looking to smooth ties with Beijing following months of heightened tensions over incidents including an alleged spy balloon, the US export controls on computer chip technology and military encounters in the South China Sea.

“We’re getting a lot of good signs that they’ll resume delivery, but I’m not going to predict that for you,” he said.