US Secretary of the Treasury visits China

2023-07-06 08:25:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen travels to China on Thursday to meet with senior officials in the latest effort to discuss strained relations between the two countries.

The Treasury Department announced in a statement earlier this week that Ms. Yellen's visit would continue through Sunday, and that it is at the direction of President Joe Biden, to deepen communication on a range of issues, including financial developments and the global macro economy.

"While in Beijing, Secretary Yellen will discuss with (Chinese) officials how important it is for the two countries — the world's two largest economies — to responsibly manage the relationship, to communicate directly about areas of concern, to work together to tackle global challenges," the statement said.

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

Ms. Yellen's visit follows Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to China last month, where he agreed with President Xi Jinping to stabilize US-China relations and ensure that points of disagreement do not turn into conflict.

But some US analysts are skeptical of any progress to be made from Ms Yellen's trip to Beijing, pointing to China's decision in recent days to limit exports of two metals used in semiconductors and solar panels.

Thomas Duesterberg, a researcher at the research organization The Hudson Institute, told VOA's Chinese-language service that "the new Chinese export restrictions are in violation of commitments made at the World Trade Organization and a serious escalation of tensions at a time when Mr. Xi's campaign is trying to attract and win back American investment and trade opportunities."

He added that, "restrictions on these rare metals will harm not only the semiconductor industry, but also laser technology and the LED halogen light industry in the West."

The United States and China are the world's two largest economies and reached new records in 2022 in trade between them. However, trade and security tensions remain significant. The United States has imposed restrictions on high-tech exports as well as economic sanctions against senior Chinese officials accused of abuses. Last week, China announced a new anti-espionage law that could put foreign businesses at risk.

William Yu, an economist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told VOA that “China would like to persuade the United States to abandon previous policies, but of course Yellen will not accept that. So I think that the chances of achieving concrete results on which both parties can agree may not be high".

"China's economy is currently facing significant challenges," he said, "and there is a strong desire in China for Western countries to reinvest in China, engage in entrepreneurial activities, and start buying Chinese products again as they have been doing in the past. The removal of all sanctions would be preferred."

A senior US Treasury Department official said Ms Yellen intends to discuss US concerns about the new anti-espionage law.

"We have concerns about the new law, and how it might be implemented, because it might expand the range of activities that authorities in China consider to be espionage," the official told Reuters news agency, citing possible consequences for the broader investment climate and economic relationship.

Ms. Yellen spoke about US-China relations during a speech in April at Johns Hopkins University. She said it would be healthier to have a relationship that encourages growth and innovation in both countries.

"A rising China that follows international rules is good for the United States and the world," Ms. Yellen said. "Both countries can benefit from healthy competition in the economic field. But healthy economic competition, where both parties benefit, is sustainable only if the competition is fair".

Ms. Yellen also said that for the sake of global stability, the United States and China should cooperate "on today's pressing global challenges"./ Voa