Commentary Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman went to China for a meeting with State Councilor Wang Yi on July 26. The meeting was declared a stalemate by the Chinese side before the end of negotiations. It was billed as a high-level attempt to avoid conflict, after a disastrous U.S.-China meeting in Alaska in March, but what emerged were disappointing “combative statements” from both sides, according to Reuters. China wrongly blamed the United States for the stymied talks, saying Washington had created an “imaginary enemy” and confrontational tone. Of course, the United States should confront an enemy of democracy such as China, which aggressively promotes its totalitarian system and influence globally. Not doing so would be a dereliction of duty to protect the American people from an expansionist dictatorship. Sherman’s delegation rightly noted China’s violation of international law, including the abrogation of its Hong Kong treaty with Britain, and Beijing’s …