The US Treasury Secretary is trying to stabilize relations with China

Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, Janet Yellenin Beijing, he called for “healthy economic competition” between the two countries and assured in a conciliatory manner that his country seeks to diversify its market, but not give up China.

Janet Yellen’s official visit to Beijing has become an exercise in diplomatic balancing in an attempt to mend deteriorating economic relations between China and the United States. Although the finance minister in some statements directly defended American companies and criticized Chinese restrictions, she also sent reassuring messages.

Yellen assured that “separation of the world’s two largest economies would be destabilizing for the global economy” and that the United States is not asking for it. A message that contradicts the political demands being heard in Washington to reduce dependence on the Asian giant.

This is Yellen’s first trip to China since she took office in 2021, and the second by a senior US official, following Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit two weeks ago. However, Yellen is visiting China with an easier mission than Blinken as both countries are interested in stopping the spiral of disagreement on economic issues.

Proof of this is that Janet Yellen was received with good words from China. The first minister li qiang it was even poetic to point out the hope for detente. On Friday, he recalled that when the finance minister’s plane landed, there was a rainbow in the sky over Beijing, saying: “I think it also applies to relations between China and the United States … we can see a rainbow.”

official Journal Global Times he pointed out that Yellen is a moderate and pragmatic figure who can help keep communication channels open.

The Treasury Secretary’s trip ends on Sunday. This Friday, he held meetings with Premier Li Qiang, responsible for economic affairs, as well as former vice minister Liu He and Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China.

The Asian giant would see the lifting or reduction of some tariffs imposed on its exports as a sign of easing tensions, but neither side expects much progress as there are many issues of friction. For China, the US veto on the sale of advanced microchips to Chinese technology companies is particularly serious, as it understands that this is a brake on its development. The finance minister assured in Beijing that the sanctions were motivated by national security and non-commercial concerns.

This week, the Chinese government responded with a vengeance, announcing restrictions on the export of two minerals essential to the production of semiconductors. To avoid any doubts, Wei Jianguo, the former head of the store, assured in statements for cinema a day that “this is just the beginning of Chinese countermeasures”.

There are issues that the two countries can work on without conflict, such as macroeconomic issues, cooperation on climate change, or world debt.