Janet Yellen to visit Beijing as part of new US effort to reduce tensions with China

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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit China this week, becoming the second Biden administration cabinet official to visit Beijing as the two countries boost efforts to stabilize their troubled ties.

Yellen will spend four days in Beijing for meetings with top Chinese officials and US business leaders, according to a senior Treasury official who cautioned that the trip is unlikely to yield “significant breakthroughs”. Yellen is not expected to meet President Xi Jinping.

His visit comes just weeks after Foreign Minister Antony Blinken flew to China to revive efforts to restore “floor” in the relationship, which is in its worst state since the countries established diplomatic ties in 1979. Is.

Yellen and Blinken are following a deal between Joe Biden and Xi in Bali in November that was derailed earlier this year after a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over the US.

“Through this visit, we want to deepen and increase the frequency of communication between our countries and stabilize the relationship to avoid miscommunication and expand cooperation wherever possible,” the official said.

He said Yellen would discuss with Chinese officials the three pillars of the US-China economic relationship that she outlined in a speech in April.

Yellen then stated that the US would protect its national security interests, including human rights, but not use security tools to gain competitive economic advantage. He said the US wanted a healthy economic relationship with China but would respond to its “unfair economic practices”. And he emphasized that the US seeks cooperation on global challenges such as debt relief and climate.

Ivan Medeiros, a former top White House official and China expert at Georgetown University, said Yellen’s visit was “the next step in an uncertain process.”

“It’s nice to do that, but it’s hard to see how this gets the ball rolling in the complex game of great power competition,” Medeiros said. “Given the militarized nature of the competition and the competitive world outlook, it is hard to see how this tour moves the ball more than a few metres.”

Differences remain between the US and China on many issues. Washington is concerned about everything from Chinese military activity around Taiwan to anti-espionage and counter-sanctions laws that complicate US business operations in China. Beijing has accused the US of interfering in Taiwan, over which it claims sovereignty, and is implementing sweeping export controls designed to make it harder to secure advanced chips.

Asked about an anti-espionage law and a foreign relations law passed last week that gives Beijing more power to push back against Western security-related actions, the official said Yellen would raise the issue.

“We are concerned about the impact this will potentially have on all foreign companies. , , Especially American firms,” the official said.

The US official said he would not be surprised if Yellen raised the situation around Idaho-based memory chip maker Micron, which China last month banned from supplying to critical Chinese infrastructure operators. US experts see the move as retaliation for export controls that Washington has used to target Chinese companies.

In her April speech, Yellen also emphasized that the US was not pursuing a policy of “distancing” from China. Speaking a week later, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan reiterated that line, and pointed out that the US was engaging in “de-risking”, using a phrase coined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang this week criticized the risk-averse rhetoric of the US and its allies. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, he said he engaged in “politicization of economic issues”.