You know it's bad when this is how the BBC puts it:

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has cautioned his US counterpart Antony Blinken against stepping on China's "red lines” at a meeting between the two countries' top diplomats in Beijing.

Mr Wang acknowledged the China-US relationship was beginning to stabilize, but said it was still being tested by "negative factors".

After meeting China's President Xi Jinping, Mr Blinken stressed the need to "communicate clearly about our differences".

This was to "minimize the risk of miscalculation and misunderstandings".