The United States on Friday insisted it was not pursuing a new "Cold War” with China, but the Pacific powers could only paper over deep differences during high-level talks.

The defense chiefs and top foreign affairs officials of the two countries met in Washington for a regular dialogue that had been pushed back amid months of spiraling tensions between the world's two largest economies.

After President Donald Trump's barbed comments against China in the runup to this week's congressional elections, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo turned conciliatory in tone if not always in substance.

"The United States is not pursuing a Cold War or containment policy with China," Pompeo told a joint news conference.

"Rather, we want to ensure that China act responsibly and fairly in support of security and prosperity in each of our two countries," Pompeo said.

But Pompeo also was upfront about US concerns. Pompeo denounced China's "repression" of religious and minority groups including the Uighur community, citing a UN report that up to one million members of the mostly Muslim ethnic group have been rounded up in detention camps. And on Taiwan, while assuring his guests that the US only recognizes Beijing, Pompeo criticized Beijing's efforts to isolate the island.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the talks were "candid" but made clear that the US will "continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows".

Senior Communist Party official Yang Jiechi, a veteran architect of Beijing’s foreign policy, insisted that China allows freedom of religion and criticized US for what he saw as its own "militarization" of the South China Sea.

The talks come several weeks before Trump is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Argentina - a potential occasion for big announcements on resolving disputes.