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US Treasury chief Yellen kicks off China visit with hardly any optimism in the air
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrives in Beijing, kicking off a visit aimed at stabilising US-China ties. PHOTO: AFP
UPDATED
1 HOUR AGO
BEIJING – The United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing on Thursday to begin a four-day visit expected to focus on recalibrating ties between the world’s two largest economies, although both sides have low expectations for the outcome.
The US seeks healthy economic competition and better communication with China, Dr Yellen said in Twitter posts shortly after arriving in Beijing.
“We will take action to protect our national security when needed, and this trip presents an opportunity to communicate and avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding,” she said.
Dr Yellen will meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday, as well as her former counterpart Liu He, and participate in a dinner hosted by former People’s Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan.
While Beijing wants more dialogue to improve economic ties, it has accepted that both countries have placed safeguarding their own national security above economic ties.
Chinese analysts have told state media that Dr Yellen’s April speech, which ranked securing the national security interests of the US and its allies as the top plank of America’s economic policy with China, did not inspire optimism for the visit.
Mr Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Nanjing University, told the Global Times newspaper that Dr Yellen’s emphasis on national security meant the US was unlikely to stop the “economic and technological suppression” of China.
No major breakthroughs
Dr Yellen, who landed at Beijing’s Capital Airport aboard a US government aircraft, will emphasise the need to work with Beijing on climate change, pandemic preparedness and debt distress, a senior US Treasury official had said previously.
She will also tell her Chinese counterparts that Washington is not seeking to decouple the two economies, while reserving the right to protect human rights and US national security interests through targeted actions, the official added.
Even though no major breakthroughs are expected, US officials say Dr Yellen will push to open new lines of communication and coordination on economic matters, and stress the consequences of supplying lethal aid to Russia, an assertion China has adamantly rejected.
When Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng met Dr Yellen in Washington on Monday, he urged the US to “pay great attention” and move to tackle China’s main concerns on the economy and trade.
Trade tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and sanctions against Chinese firms are the country’s chief concerns, said Dr Wu Xinbo, an American studies specialist at Fudan University, who is familiar with Beijing’s thinking.
Dr Yellen’s long-anticipated trip comes weeks after a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the mutual rivalry should not veer into conflict, amid a freeze in talks between their militaries.
Both visits are seen as critical to improving communication after the American military shot down a Chinese balloon over the US. They come ahead of a possible meeting between President Joe Biden and Mr Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering scheduled for November in San Francisco. REUTERS
