China accuses US of creating 'imaginary enemy' during high-level talks

There were no specific outcomes agreed and the prospect of a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping was not discussed.

A top Chinese diplomat took a confrontational tone on Monday in rare high-level talks with the United States, accusing it of creating an "imaginary enemy" to divert attention from domestic problems and suppress China. Amid worsening relations between the world`s two largest economies, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the second-ranking U.S. diplomat, arrived on Sunday for face-to-face meetings in the northern city of Tianjin that the State Department described as "frank and open". There were no specific outcomes agreed and the prospect of a meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping was not discussed, senior U.S. administration officials said following talks that lasted about four hours. Shortly after Monday`s meetings began, Chinese state media reported on confrontational remarks by Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng, in echoes of a similarly combative opening by senior Chinese officials during high-level talks in March in Alaska. "The United States wants to reignite the sense of national purpose by establishing China as an 'imaginary enemy'," Xie was quoted as saying as talks were underway.