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U.S.-China stalemate, infrastructure bill due and Covid infections surge.

China hit back at U.S. policies in a jittery start to high-level talks in Tianjin, issuing a list of demands and declaring the relationship between the world’s two largest economies in a “stalemate.” Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng told visiting Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman that some Americans want to portray China as an “imagined enemy,” according to accounts released by the Foreign Ministry as talks kicked off. Still, Xie said Beijing was willing to explore common ground and deal with the U.S. on an equal footing. The talks in Tianjin, about 60 miles east of the capital Beijing, represent the highest-level face-to-face meeting between the two sides since an acrimonious exchange in Alaska in March. If they are fruitful, they could set up a meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, possibly at a Group of 20 summit in October.