The US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, met today in Beijing with the Chinese vice-premier responsible for economic policy, He Lifeng, before whom she acknowledged that both countries compete with each other, “but they must do so under certain rules”. In addition, the official believes that this “will benefit both.”
Yellen, who has been on an official visit to China for two days, added that Washington has “concerns” about “some practices” of the Asian giant’s economy and that it hopes that “it can correct them appropriately.” “I think both powers can interact and work together despite the tensions, because there is room for more trade and more bilateral investment,” she said. He also said the world faces great challenges, from economic recovery to climate change, and that it is the duty of both to “address” them.
Seek “mutual understanding”
He Lifeng, who replaced Liu He in March as one of the main architects of the Asian country’s economy, strangely said that the two countries must continue to seek “mutual understanding” to overcome their disagreements. “As Chinese President Xi Jinping put it, the world is big enough for both countries to benefit from,” he said.
Yellen’s trip to China, which ends on Sunday, comes two weeks after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing, and is yet another attempt to defuse tension between the two powers.
On Friday, Yellen told Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang that the US seeks “healthy economic competition” with China, although she asserted that Washington will in some cases take “measures to protect its national security,” a phrase she repeated today before He . However, the US representative assured that his trip seeks to “deepen constructive efforts” so that both countries can “abort global challenges” and “macroeconomic stability.”
For his part, the Asian giant’s prime minister assured that the good relationship between the two powers could determine “the future and destiny of humanity.” In addition, Li said China hopes relations will “get back on track” in the near future, saying the two nations should “strengthen communication” on economic talks through “sincere and stable exchanges.”
Visit after US restrictions
The visit comes months after Washington imposed restrictions on the export of US-made semiconductors and materials, a move aimed at limiting Beijing’s ability to make parts needed to run supercomputers or advanced military systems.
Although there was no official confirmation, the Wall Street Journal published days ago that the United States is considering new restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence chips to China. This Monday, Beijing counterattacked by announcing restrictions on the export of gallium and germanium, two key metals for the manufacture of semiconductors, a product that is at the center of commercial and technological tensions between the two.
