Global Courant
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said 10 hours of meetings with Chinese officials over two days were “immediate, substantive and productive” and was a step forward in helping to put relations between the world’s two largest economies on a ” more secure basis”.
Yellen’s trip to Beijing comes at a time when Washington is considering curbing US investment in China amid an escalating global battle for technological supremacy. She is the second member of US President Joe Biden’s cabinet to visit Beijing in recent weeks to stabilize ties between the two powers.
“The US and China have major differences of opinion. Those differences of opinion must be communicated clearly and directly,” said Yellen prepared comments. “But President (Joe) Biden and I do not see the US-China relationship in the context of a major power struggle.”
“We believe the world is big enough for both of our countries to thrive. Both nations have a duty to manage this relationship responsibly: to find a way to live together and share in the global prosperity,” she added.
In comments to a press conference Concluding her four-day visit to Beijing, Yellen said she had told her Chinese counterparts that any restrictions on U.S. outward investment would be “transparent” and “very narrowly focused.”
Otherwise, she added, Chinese officials may raise concerns and the US will in some cases address the unintended consequences.
“Overall, I believe my bilateral meetings — which totaled about 10 hours over two days — were a step forward in our effort to put the U.S.-China relationship on firmer footing,” Yellen concluded.
Just days before Yellen’s visit, Beijing had imposed export restrictions chip making metals and its connections – which is the Chinese Ministry of Commerce claimed to have given the pre-announcement of the US and Europe. In October, the US launched sweeping rules targeting cutting off exports of important chips and semiconductor tools to China.
Diversify, don’t decouple
Yellen said she “made it clear that the United States is not trying to disengage from China,” in her talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng and other senior officials.
“There is an important distinction between decoupling on the one hand and diversifying critical supply chains or taking targeted national security action on the other,” she said.
“We know that a decoupling of the world’s two largest economies would be disastrous for both countries and destabilizing for the world,” she added. “And it would be virtually impossible to undertake.”
Vice Premier of China He said talks with Yellen on Saturday were “constructive”. according to a readout from the Chinese government.
Noting that the overburdening of national security is detrimental to normal economic and trade exchanges, the Chinese side expressed concern about the sanctions and restrictions imposed on China by the United States, the same statement said.
“The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and cooperation in addressing global challenges, and to continue to maintain exchanges and interactions,” the statement added.
Tricky balance
Yellen’s job in Beijing was a difficult one. While expressing concerns about “a recent increase in coercive action against U.S. companies,” she also sought to seek Chinese cooperation on issues ranging from debt in emerging markets and developing countries to climate change.
These are principles she laid out in a speech in April where she emphasized the importance of honesty in the US economic competition with China.
Then she sketched three economic priorities for the US-China relationship: safeguarding national security interests and protecting human rights, fostering mutually beneficial growth and cooperation on global challenges such as climate change and indebtedness.
“I believe that if China supported existing multilateral climate institutions such as the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Investment Funds alongside us and other donor governments, we could have a bigger impact than we do now,” Yellen said. said ahead of a roundtable discussion on climate finance in Beijing on Friday.
Yellen’s visit is part of ongoing efforts to stabilize US-China relations after months of escalating tensions. Her visit came just weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit last month.
“My goal during this trip was to establish and deepen relationships with the new economic leadership team in Beijing. Our discussions are part of a wider collaborative effort to stabilize the relationship, reduce the risk of misunderstanding and discuss areas of cooperation,” Yellen said on Saturday.
These efforts could pave the way for a meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leadership summit in New Delhi in September and the APEC leadership summit in San Francisco in November. The two leaders last met in Bali last year.
“No one is going to solve our challenges overnight,” Yellen said. “But I expect this trip will help build a resilient and productive communication channel with China’s new economic team.”
