Tensions must be eased: US Treasury Secretary Yellen plans visit to China After massacres: Serbs hand over more than 100,000 illegal weapons

Amid heightened tensions between China and the United States, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is expected in Beijing this week. As announced by her ministry, Yellen will travel to China from Thursday to Sunday. Her visit follows US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing in May and aims to restore the use of communication channels between the two sides.

Their talks should include macroeconomic and financial developments around the world, the US Treasury Department website said Monday. Speaking in Beijing, Yellen wanted to talk about how important it is for the two largest economies to “manage their relationships responsibly, communicate directly on problem areas and work together to address global challenges.”

The US Treasury Secretary repeatedly expressed reservations about China and, precisely because of the many differences of opinion, emphasized the need to restore contacts and enter into talks with the new government in China installed by the party leadership in March.

Relations are on the back burner. US President Joe Biden’s tough stance on China, the ongoing trade war, China’s support for Russian President Vladimir Putin and its war of aggression against Ukraine, China’s territorial claims in the South and East China Seas, and threats to Beijing for the democratic island republic of Taiwan are strained relations.

The US president recently sparked further anger when he compared China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping to a dictator, which Beijing furiously rejected. (sda/dpa)