There was "heated" opening high-level talks today between US and Chinese officials.
The day-long bilateral talks were delayed more than an hour by what Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi called a "very heated discussion in a small group" ahead of the formal meeting.
Ms Wu led a large Chinese delegation to meet US counterparts headed by Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez and Trade Representative Susan Schwab in talks on product safety and protection of intellectual property rights, areas where the United States says China is deficient.
Without referring directly to a spate of Chinese-made toys pulled from US markets or complaints against China that Washington has taken to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ms Wu said in opening comments that "disharmonious notes" had entered the two nations' dealings.
"US media hyped about the quality of Chinese exports, causing serious damage to China's national image," Ms Wu said.
She said there was "nothing strange" about trade partners needing to resolve issues and said there was no basis for concern that China was becoming less welcoming to foreign investment.
Toy maker Mattel has recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made products in the past few months, adding to a growing tally of similar cases.