CHINA accused the US of "demonising" Beijing in a high-level talk under president Joe Biden's administration.
China's vice foreign minister Xie Feng said relations had reached a "stalemate" because the US saw China as an "imagined enemy".
He added that the US wanted to "blame China for its own structural problems", according to a statement by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He is in talks with deputy secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the most senior US official, who arrived in China’s northern city of Tianjin for face-to-face meetings with Xie.
"It is as if when China's development is contained... America would become great again," Xie said.
Sherman had earlier said it was hoping to hold "candid exchanges" to "advance US interests and... responsibly manage the relationship".
The US-China face-to-face dialogue is widely being viewed as a precursor for an eventual meeting with Biden and his Chinese counterpart president Xi Jinping.
Tensions between the two countries escalated recently.
Last week, China imposed sanctions on several US individuals and organisations, including former commerce secretary Wilbur Ross.
This was in response to the Biden administration warning its business community against operating in Hong Kong
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