Yellen meets with Chinese official ahead of visit to China

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng on Monday ahead of his trip to China this week as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to address tense relations between Both countries.

“The candid and productive discussion supported ongoing efforts to keep the lines of communication open and responsibly manage the bilateral relationship between the United States and China,” the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

Chinese state media said Xie expressed hope that the two countries would eliminate interference and strengthen dialogue.

Managing relationships, working on issues of mutual interest and ensuring that tensions do not escalate into conflict have been the main topics of conversations among senior officials in recent weeks, including the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to Beijing last month.

In Yellen’s talks with Xie, the Treasury Department said, Yellen “raised issues of concern while conveying the importance of the two largest economies working together on global challenges, including on macroeconomic and financial issues.”

Yellen is scheduled to visit China from July 6 to 9 for talks with senior officials.

A senior Treasury Department official told reporters Sunday that the United States wants a healthy economic relationship with China and that halting trade and investment “would be destabilizing to both our countries and the global economy.”

The officials also said Yellen plans to discuss US concerns about a new Chinese anti-espionage law.

Addressing US-China relations during a speech in April at Johns Hopkins University, Yellen said it would be healthy to have a relationship that fosters growth and innovation in both countries.

“A growing China that plays by international rules is good for the United States and the world,” Yellen said. “Both countries can benefit from healthy competition in the economic sphere. But healthy economic competition, where both parties benefit, is only sustainable if that competition is fair.”

Yellen also said that for the sake of global stability, the United States and China should cooperate “on the urgent global challenges of our day.”

[Parte de la información para esta historia provino de The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse y Reuters]

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