U.S. and Chinese officials met face-to-face this week for high-level talks, and the meeting had a different tone as the countries remain at odds over issues from cyber security to human rights.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, America’s number two diplomat, is in China as part of a two-day visit this week. She’s meeting with various Chinese diplomats.
The U.S. is urging cooperation on issues including climate, Iran and North Korea. That’s in addition to the two sides remaining at odds over several issues including technology, cybersecurity and human rights.
During a meeting that took place an hour from Beijing, China’s foreign vice-minister telling his counterpart the two countries are in a ‘stalemate,’ saying, “The foundational reason is that some people in the U.S. are treating China as an ‘imagined enemy.’”
The State Department described the meeting as quote “frank and open”.
The face-to-face talks follow a March meeting in Anchorage, Alaska where angry words were traded.
Reuters reports the possibility of a meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping was not discussed during the latest meeting nor was any agreement reached.
