The chief US and Chinese diplomats sat down Saturday with the aim of improving communication despite deep-seated differences, The Wall Street Journal reports.

China and the US are two big countries, so it is necessary for the two countries to maintain a normal exchange of opinions, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated before the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Bali within the framework of the G20.

There is a lot to talk about in such a complex and important relationship as the US-China relationship, Blinken told reporters before the meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister.

The relatively cold greeting exchanged by the Chinese and US envoys came a day after Blinken and other Western diplomats in Bali slammed—in an effort to isolate Moscow Russia—for helping to drive up world food and energy prices.

The Biden administration wants to make sure that China, which signed a broad cooperation agreement with Russia this year amid talk of a borderless partnership, does not support Moscow in the war in Ukraine.

Overall, US officials want to manage what they describe as a highly competitive relationship with China—with cooperation in some domains, whereas potential confrontation in others. Beijing accuses Washington of trying to enlist other countries in the region to thwart China's rise, in what it sees as a revival of Cold War-style containment, The Wall Street Journal notes.