New attempt at China-US diplomacy to release tensions

First modification: 07/06/2023 – 14:54

With our correspondent in Beijing, Nerea Hernández, and the AFP

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has arrived in Beijing for a four-day visit to China, in a new attempt to defuse tensions between the two great powers. Yellen’s visit comes weeks after that of Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State.

Yellen is scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday. Her schedule also includes a meeting with former Vice Premier Liu He, and a dinner hosted by former China Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, a Treasury official told reporters on Thursday.

The meetings these days between Yellen and senior Chinese officials will focus on the trade obstacles between the two countries, although it is not ruled out that Beijing insists on demanding that the United States stop its interference in matters that China considers internal, such as Taiwan.

Business relationships

In a display of the challenges Yellen faces, the business daily Wall Street Journal published that the US government is considering restricting the access of Chinese firms to cloud computing services from companies such as Amazon or Microsoft.

In trade relations, Beijing maintains its accusations against the US over attempts to decouple or disrupt industrial and supply chains, while urging an end to restrictions on chip exports from China.

For the Asian giant, the US intentions to stop China’s development are clear. For its part, the US defends that the sanctions and measures applied respond to national security.

In a world context of great turbulence, the tensions between these two great powers do not benefit any country in the world. The intentions seem to be good, but, as on previous occasions, actions are worth more than words.