U.S. faces blunt — but useful — reception in Beijing. Is there a lesson for Canada?

The meeting started with a handshake, but the mood was tense and there were few smiles as Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Beijing's Great Hall of the People on Monday.

Still, just this — the fact that Washington's top diplomat and China's top leaders could meet and spend hours in "candid, substantive, and constructive discussions," according to Blinken — was seen as an accomplishment. 

Such is the chill in relations between the two world powers, who have accused each other of spying from balloons over each other's territories, and instigating dangerously close calls between naval ships and warplanes in international territory near China. Beijing's support for Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine and Washington's sanctions against Chinese firms and officials — including Defence Minister Li Shangfu — continue to rankle.

Blinken said talks at senior levels are important to "ensure that competition does not veer into conflict." He conceded, though, "progress is hard. It takes time."

Pointing to agreement on minor issues, Xi simply said: "This is good."

But he also warned the United States not to "hurt China's legitimate rights and interests" — a signal of potential flashpoints over Taiwan, the democratically run and U.S.-armed island that China claims as its own and threatens to invade.

It's a sign that these two-day talks were likely quite blunt.

"China is very frank in its belief that every single problem in the relationship is the fault of the United States," said Robert Daly, a former U.S. diplomat in Beijing and the director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the U.S. "That's pretty insulting and pretty candid."

Despite all this, the visit went ahead.

That's prompted some to ask why Canada can't set aside its differences — the view of China as a "threat" or "enemy" held by many Canadians — and negotiate with, or even confront, Beijing directly. Even on sensitive topics like recent allegations of Chinese meddling in Canada's elections.

"For us to sit in perfect isolation, dealing with political interference, but doing absolutely nothing else, is not a winning strategy," said Gordon Houlden, director emeritus of the China Institute at the University of Alberta and a former Canadian diplomat to China.

He admits any politician who suggests negotiating with China now would risk being "ridiculed" at home. 

But no other major country has taken this approach. None in the G7, not even Australia, which struggled with Chinese election interference and then faced punitive trade measures as Canberra called Beijing out. 

Australia has also seen several of its citizens detained in China, paralleling Canada's experience with the two Michaels, who were arrested and held by China for almost three years after Canada detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.