This week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to China to talk with senior government officials and American companies conducting business in China.
A senior Treasury official stated on Sunday that her visit expands on President Joe Biden's directive following his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last year to strengthen communications between the world's two largest economies. The official stated that Yellen does not expect to meet directly with Xi.
Yellen to Visit China
However, during a June fundraiser, Biden compared Xi to "dictators," drawing the ire of the Chinese. The foreign ministry of Beijing responded by calling Biden's remarks "ridiculous" and "open political provocations."
Per CBS News, Yellen will be away from July 6 to July 9. During her time in Beijing, Yellen will discuss with government officials the significance of the two nations managing their relationships, communicating directly on areas of concern, and working together to address global challenges.
The senior Treasury official stated that the secretary has no intention of shying away from expressing US views on human rights during the visit and that the topic will likely come up.
In a speech in April, Yellen outlined how the United States perceives the three pillars of the US-China bilateral economic relationship.
These pillars are: the US taking targeted action to secure national security interests and will protect human rights; the US seeking a healthy economic relationship with China, not a decoupling, but the US will respond with allies to unfair practices by China; and the US seeking cooperation on contemporary challenges, such as the global economy, combating climate change, and debt.
Yellen's visit to China follows repeated statements by the secretary that she wished to travel there when the time was right. Yellen stated in a recent interview that her goal in traveling to China is to reestablish contact.
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US-China Economic Ties
Yellen, who has termed the concept of economic decoupling from China "catastrophic," has frequently expressed her desire to visit China over the past year.
Despite their strained geopolitical and economic development relations, she asserts that the two countries "can and must find a means to exist together." This week, Yellen will meet with Chinese officials, US companies doing business in China, and Chinese citizens, as per The Independent.
While there are distinct areas of common interest where Yellen can make progress, significant disagreements cannot be resolved in a single trip, according to the official.
Following tensions over a Chinese surveillance balloon that the US government shot down, US-led restrictions on China's access to sophisticated computer processors, and ongoing tensions over the status and security of Taiwan, the US president made these statements.
Yet, in Biden's dictator remarks during a California fundraiser, the president told his audience, "Don't fret" about China because the United States has taken measures to contend with its financial and technological ambitions.
Yellen's voyage followed Secretary of State Antony Blinken's two-day visit to Beijing in June, which comprised the highest-level meetings in China over the past five years. Blinken met with Xi, and the two agreed to stabilize deteriorating relations between the United States and China.
However, a consensus could not be reached regarding improved military communications. Treasury officials did not specify with whom she would confer but stated that it would not be Xi.
The treasury secretary's visit will focus on stabilizing the global economy and challenging China's support for Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine on the ground. China has developed an uncomfortably close relationship with the Kremlin, despite claiming neutrality in the conflict and conducting frequent state visits with Russian officials.
Still, US officials maintain optimism that US-China relations will not deteriorate further. Yellen met with her former Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, in Switzerland in January and gave a significant speech at Johns Hopkins University in April calling for " cooperation on the urgent global challenges of our day " between the two countries to maintain global stability while supporting economic restrictions on China to advance US national security interests.
Relations between China and the United States are at an all-time low due to escalating tensions ranging from trade and tariffs to tech rivalry. This was notably true after former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's highly provocative visit to Taiwan last August. China suspended military and climate change discussions with its US counterparts in response to US provocations.
According to some US media reports, in addition to Yellen and Blinken, John Kerry, the US President's special envoy for climate change, and Gina Raimondo, the US Commerce Secretary, are also anticipated to visit Beijing later this year.
When asked about the possibility of high-level US officials visiting China, Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that China and the United States have engaged in dialogues and exchanges at all levels.
