The first talks between President Joe Biden’s administration and China were “tough and direct,” a senior US official said Friday, amid rising tensions between the rival world powers.

The meeting had begun Thursday with the top diplomats of both sides exchanging fiery broadsides, setting the stage for tense discussions as Washington seeks to hem in China’s expanding influence, and with Beijing’s Yang Jiechi accusing the Americans of trying to “strangle” his country.

But after three rounds of talks in frigid Anchorage, Alaska, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the economic giants had found areas where their interests overlap.

He said the American side was candid about its concerns over Beijing’s behavior toward Hong Kong and Taiwan and its actions in cyberspace.

“But we were also able to have a very candid conversation over these many hours on an expansive agenda,” said Blinken.