U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit China this week

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Beijing on Thursday (July 6) as part of the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to ease tensions between the United States and China. If the trip takes place, Yellen will become the second Biden administration cabinet official to travel to China. Yellen’s visit will last until July 9, and she will meet with Chinese officials, executives from U.S. companies in China, and Chinese citizens this week.

Another US official told the media that Yellen’s long-awaited visit is part of President Biden’s push to deepen communication between the world’s two largest economies, stabilize relations between the two countries, and minimize the risk of mistakes in the event of disagreements. “The purpose of Yellen’s trip is to deepen and enhance the frequency of communication between the United States and China,” “While Yellen can make progress on some clear areas of common interest, there are also significant differences that will not be resolved in a single visit.”

Yellen will also discuss with Chinese officials a long-awaited US executive order that would limit US investment in China in certain key sectors and “make sure they don’t see it as broader than it actually is or is expected”.

An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Secretary Yellen plans to tell China’s new economic team that Washington will continue to defend human rights and U.S. national security interests through targeted actions against China, but wants to work with Beijing to address pressing challenges such as climate change and debt woes facing many countries. “We do not seek to decouple our economies, and a complete halt to trade and investment would destabilize both our countries and the global economy.”

Earlier this year, US-China relations deteriorated due to the “spy balloon” incident, and US Secretary of State Blinken’s visit to China was finally postponed until mid-June. On June 28, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview that she wanted to visit China and “reconnect” with Beijing, “there are new leaders [in Beijing] and we need to get to know each other.”

“China’s economic growth is not necessarily incompatible with the United States’ economic leadership role,” Ms. Yellen said in an April speech at Johns Hopkins University, referring to U.S.-China relations. Yellen said the two countries should be able to “manage their economic relationship responsibly” and that the United States wants to maintain a “healthy competitive relationship” with China that benefits both sides, in addition to safeguarding national security and human rights.

In the June 28 interview, Yellen again acknowledged the differences between the two countries, adding that the United States will continue to defend its national security interests and that “the United States is taking steps, and will continue to take steps, to protect our national security interests, even if there is an economic cost to us to do so.