China blames US for fraught relations as talks begin
China has blamed the United States for what it called a “stalemate” in bilateral relations as high-level face-to-face talks began in the Chinese city of Tianjin.
In a meeting with US’s No 2 diplomat on Monday, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng urged Washington “to change its highly misguided mindset and dangerous policy,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“US-China relations are in a standstill and face serious difficulties,” Xinhua quoted Xie as telling US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
“The United States wants to reignite the sense of national purpose by establishing China as an ‘imaginary enemy’.”
Sherman, whose China visit was added late to an Asian itinerary that included stops in Japan, South Korea and Mongolia amid wrangling over protocol between Beijing and Washington, was due to meet later on Monday with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a member of the state council, or China’s cabinet
She is the highest-ranking US official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office six months ago.
Relations between the countries deteriorated sharply under his predecessor, former President Donald Trump and the two sides remain at odds over a host of issues including human rights, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, technology and a number of other issues.
Senior US officials have said the goal of the talks is not to negotiate specific issues but to keep high-level communications channels open.
The US wants to ensure that guardrails are in place to prevent competition between the countries from becoming conflict, they said.
A day before Sherman’s arrival, Wang had said China would not accept the US taking a “superior” position in the relationship.
“China would never accept any country that claims to be superior to others,” he told China’s Phoenix Television. “If the US has not learned to treat other countries equally, China and the international community have the responsibility to help the US learn how to do this.”
Sherman, who arrived Sunday evening from Mongolia, tweeted “heartfelt condolences (from the United States) to those who have lost loved ones” in severe storms and flooding last week that killed at least 63 people in Henan province.
Her meetings follow an initial and highly contentious meeting in March in Anchorage, Alaska, where Wang and veteran Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi flew to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
At that meeting, Chinese officials, including Wang, railed against the state of US democracy, while US officials accused the Chinese side of grandstanding.
Aljazeera
