China called relations with the United States in a “stalemate" on Monday during a meeting in Tianjin with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the highest-level visit so far by a member of the Biden administration.

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       There were indications both sides wanted to dial down the temperature in the U.S.-China conflict, especially as central China suffers deadly floods. Readouts of the meeting in Chinese media mentioned each side making requests for cooperation.

       In his meeting with Sherman, China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng urged the United States to lift its visa restrictions on Chinese Communist Party members and Chinese students seeking to study in the United States, according to a social media posting by the official China Media Group. He also asked for Washington to revoke its efforts to extradite Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou from Canada, and to address rising anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States, it said.

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       Xie said the United States was seeking China’s cooperation on climate change, Iran and North Korea issues, according to Chinese news outlet the Paper. “But it’s not going to work if the U.S. asks for cooperation on the one hand and damages China’s interests on the other," he said.

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       U.S.-China relations faced serious difficulties, partly because the United States treats China as an “imaginary enemy,” Xie said, according to a readout from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

       In a media briefing ahead of Sherman’s trip, U.S. officials had struck a conciliatory note compared with the harsh rhetoric of the Trump administration. A senior Biden administration official said Sherman’s visit wasn’t meant to negotiate a specific issue but to “keep the channels of communication open.” A second official said the administration was aware of the deadly floods in central China, and that Sherman would express condolences for the loss of life.

       Sherman’s visit comes as part of a U.S. diplomatic push in Asia. This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit India, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. Sherman had met last week with her counterparts in Japan and South Korea.

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       U.S.-China relations grew intensely hostile under the Trump administration, with the two countries clashing over trade and human rights, with escalating sanctions on both sides. President Biden has sought to return the relationship to a calmer footing, while retaining Trump-era sanctions on Huawei and a number of other Chinese companies.

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       Washington and Beijing continue to have serious disagreements over a number of issues, including the World Health Organization’s efforts to determine the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Beijing announced it would not cooperate with the WHO’s follow-up research plans. Biden has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to search for evidence of how the pandemic started.

       On Friday, Beijing announced counter-sanctions on former Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and several other Americans, retaliating against earlier U.S. sanctions against Chinese officials over the crackdowns in Hong Kong.

       Lyric Li and Karen DeYoung contributed to this report.

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