China says relationship with US at ‘stalemate’ amid high-level talks

BEIJING: Chinese officials on Monday went on the offensive amid high-level talks with the US, blaming Washington for causing a “stalemate” in relations between the two countries.

Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng accused the Biden administration of attempting tamp down Chinese development during talks with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, media reported. Sherman is the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit China.

According to Xie, the US portrays China as an “imagined enemy,” straining relations between Beijing and Washington.Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian told reporters that China sought out the US’s cooperation on climate change and the nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea during the talks, but also “expressed its strong dissatisfaction” with the US’s stance on tracing the origins of COVID-19, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Xinjiang province.

The AP reports that the foreign ministry also demanded that the US lift visa restrictions on Chinese Communist Party members and their families, sanctions on government officials and visa restrictions on Chinese students.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi also reportedly accused the US of behaving as though it were superior to China.“China would never accept any country that claims to be superior to others,” Wang said on a state-run television channel. “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.”

Despite these apparent grievances, Zhao said the talks were “in-depth and frank and enhanced understanding of each other’s positions, which is conducive to striving for sound development of China-US relations.”