Beijing has accused the United States of ‘demonising’ China – claiming some people in the US treat it as an “imaginary enemy”

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is currently in China – and is the highest-ranking US official to visit the country since President Joe Biden took office.

Relations between Beijing and Washington have sharply deteriorated in recent years, with Joe Biden maintaining Donald Trump’s tough stance on China.

Are the nations in a stalemate?

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng telling counterpart Wendy Sherman.. relations between the nations are in a “stalemate” adding that U.S China ties are facing “serious difficulties”.

According to a readout issued by China’s foreign ministry, the senior Chinese official told his US counterpart.. that “The hope may be that by demonising China, the US could somehow … blame China for its own structural problems,”

The US State Department said ahead of the trip – that the visit would serve “to show and to demonstrate to [China]… what responsible and healthy competition can look like”

With Wendy Sherman wanting to ensure – and emphasise to Beijing – the need for guardrails to be in place to manage the relationship.

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting South-East Asia this week, becoming the first member of Joe Biden’s Cabinet to do so.