3-7-2023 (WASHINGTON) Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to travel to Beijing this week for a meeting with senior Chinese officials to discuss macroeconomic and financial issues. The U.S. and China will also discuss how they can “responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges.” The purpose of the trip is to increase the frequency of communication between the two countries, stabilize the relationship, and expand collaboration where possible. However, the Biden administration doesn’t expect any significant breakthroughs during Yellen’s trip. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV confirmed that Yellen will be visiting from July 6-9.
In April, Yellen outlined three economic priorities for the U.S.-China relationship: securing national security interests, fostering mutually beneficial growth, and cooperating on global challenges such as climate change and debt distress. The senior administration official told reporters that Yellen’s visit would underscore these objectives.
Yellen had emphasized in April that the U.S. would not hesitate to “defend our vital interests.” However, the measures taken are “motivated solely by our concerns about our security and values” and not intended to “gain competitive economic advantage.”
The senior administration official reiterated this stance on Sunday, saying, “We do not seek to decouple our economies, a full cessation of trade and investment would be destabilizing for both of our countries and the global economy.”
Yellen’s trip comes just weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing. During his meeting, Blinken highlighted the importance of the economic relationship between the two nations. He noted that the growth of major economies like China is in the U.S. interest, but “it’s not in our interest to provide technology to China that could be used against us.” Further details of Yellen’s trip will be provided later by the Treasury.
