An ugly Twitter spat between a US senator and Chinese reporter has underlined the rising rancour.

Government-backed newspaper China Daily said in an editorial on Friday it viewed Washington's decision to limit visitor visas for Chinese Communist Party members and their families and a ban on Xinjiang cotton imports are "worrisome signs".

"Even if the incoming administration has any intention of easing the tensions that have been sown, and continue being sown, some damage is simply beyond repair, as the sitting US president intends," the newspaper said.

Relations between the world's two largest economies have sunk to their lowest point in decades over issues such as trade, technology, security, human rights and COVID-19.

Bilateral ties are being shifted onto "a dangerous path", according to the China Daily editorial.

The Chinese ambassador to the United States became the latest of senior Beijing officials to signal a desire to reset the increasingly confrontational relationship as president-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office.

"There are always differences between the two countries. None of them justifies confrontation and war, cold or hot," Cui said on Twitter Thursday.

"With sufficient mutual respect and mutual understanding, we are capable of managing these differences so that they would not derail the entire relationship."

It is unclear whether a Biden administration will bring a dramatic shift, however.

The Democrat told the New York Times this week he would not remove existing tariffs set by Trump against China for now.

Legislation targeting China or Chinese officials over charges of human rights abuses in Xinjiang and crackdown against pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong have won broad bipartisan support in Congress, as well, further suggesting current policies towards China have staying power.

An exchange of insults on Thursday between US Senator Marsha Blackburn and China Daily journalist Chen Weihua underscored persistent animosity.

Blackburn, a Republican and one of the more outspoken China critics, claimed without evidence on Twitter that China "has a 5,000 year history of cheating and stealing".

Chen replied to her tweet, accusing Blackburn of being the most "racist and ignorant" US senator he has seen and calling her a "lifetime bitch".

The senator responded by calling Chen a "puppet" in Chinese President Xi Jinping's "dream for global domination" and that the US won't bow to "sexist communist thugs".

Australian Associated Press