7-7-2023 (BEIJING) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen embarked on a four-day trip to Beijing on Friday (Jul 7), marking her first visit to China since becoming Treasury chief. Yellen’s schedule includes a full day of meetings with Chinese officials, where she will focus on improving the strained US-China relationship, addressing American businesses’ concerns, and discussing the global economic outlook.
The US and China have been at odds over a range of issues, including export controls, human rights, and national security. While the US doesn’t anticipate any specific policy breakthroughs during Yellen’s visit, a Treasury official said they hope for productive conversations that can pave the way for future talks.
Yellen is scheduled to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and her former counterpart, ex-vice premier Liu He, to discuss the economic relationship and raise concerns. She will also meet with representatives of American firms in China at a session hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce to hear about the challenges they face when doing business in China.
During these meetings, Yellen is expected to stress the concept of “healthy economic competition” and address what Washington deems unfair practices, including barriers to market access and actions targeting US firms.
In a tweet after arriving in Beijing, Yellen said that while the US would protect its national security when needed, “this trip presents an opportunity to communicate and avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding.” The Treasury official also noted that “especially if they’re things that we may disagree about, it’s even more important that we’re talking.”
However, it may not be an easy job to persuade Chinese officials that the US’ actions – such as tightened export curbs on high-end semiconductors – are aimed at safeguarding national security and not at gaining an economic advantage over China. China has been responding to US chip curbs by unveiling new export controls on metals key to semiconductor manufacturing.
Furthermore, underscoring the challenges Yellen could face, the US administration is reportedly considering restricting Chinese firms’ access to US cloud-computing services provided by companies such as Amazon and Microsoft.
