Yellen sees "progress" on China-United States relations after his visit to Beijing

“The United States and China have significant disagreements,” Yellen told a news conference at the US embassy in Beijing, citing Washington’s concern over what she called “unfair economic practices” and recent punitive measures against Chinese companies. country.

“But President (Joe) Biden and I don’t view the US-China relationship through the framework of a great power conflict. We believe the world is big enough for our two countries to prosper“.

With relations between the United States and China at a minimum due to national security issues, including taiwanUS export bans on advanced technologies and China’s state industrial policies, Washington has been trying to repair ties between the world’s two largest economies.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing last month, the first trip for the top US diplomat under Biden. Climate envoy John Kerry is expected to pay a visit this month.

The US diplomatic push comes ahead of a possible meeting between Biden and President Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit in New Delhi in September or at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum meeting scheduled for November in San Francisco.

Yellen said her visit was aimed at establishing and deepening ties with China’s new economic team, reducing the risk of misunderstanding and paving the way for cooperation in areas such as climate change and debt.

“I think that we have made some progress and that we can have a healthy economic relationship that benefits us both and the world“, he declared, adding that he expects more and more regular communication at the staff level.

In a post-visit press conference, a senior Treasury official stated that, as expected, the trip did not result in concrete political advances, but was “very fruitful” in terms of “re-establishing contacts” and building relationships.

Yellen said Chinese officials had raised concerns about a decree that would restrict US investment abroad, but assured them that any such measure would be limited in scope and enacted in a transparent manner.

He also claimed that he had told Chinese officials they could raise concerns about the US measures, so Washington could explain and “possibly, in some situations, respond to the unintended consequences of our measures if they are not carefully targeted.”