US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen began a multi-day visit to Beijing on Thursday, June 6. The agenda includes strengthening bilateral cooperation between the United States and China, particularly in terms of trade, against a backdrop of persistent tensions between the two superpowers.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing on Thursday, kicking off a visit aimed at improving communication and stabilising the tense relationship between the world’s two largest economies.
Yellen’s trip through Sunday is her first to China as treasury secretary, and comes just weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a rare visit to the country.
The visit will see Yellen seek to expand lines of correspondence, avoid miscommunications and widen collaboration on the global economy, climate change, debt distress and other issues, according to a Treasury official.
Her trip — which comes in the face of concerns over China’s economic recovery and US interest rate hikes — may also give officials on both sides a chance to speak about their countries’ growth outlooks.
Underscoring the challenges Yellen will face, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US administration is mulling restricting Chinese companies’ access to US cloud-computing services provided by companies such as Amazon and Microsoft.
Ahead of the trip, Beijing appears to have adopted reciprocal actions such as new export controls on metals key to semiconductor manufacturing, further proof that a shift in relations could take time.
There are areas, such as debt distress, where cooperation appears more likely.
Looking ahead, President Joe Biden has voiced confidence that he will meet China’s top leader Xi Jinping again soon.
However, tensions remain over a host of economic issues, including possible plans by Biden’s administration to restrict certain outbound investments involving sensitive technology that could impact China.
Washington also has concerns over Beijing’s “coercive actions and non-market economic practices”, and plans to push for corrective actions, an official said.
Although top American officials have stressed that Washington is not looking to decouple from China — and instead is pushing to “de-risk” — it remains unclear if Beijing will be convinced of a shift in US policy.
Other issues to be discussed could include recent amendments to China’s anti-espionage law, which broadened the definition of spying and banned the transfer of information relating to national security.
Malo Pinatel, with AFP
