2023-07-06 14:00:42
© Reuters. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrives in Beijing 7/6/2023. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS
Por Andrea Shalal e Yew Lun Tian
BEIJING (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing on Thursday, starting a four-day visit that is expected to focus on strengthening ties between the world’s two biggest economies, despite low expectations. from both sides.
Yellen got a quiet welcome from a Chinese finance ministry official and US envoy to China Nicholas Burns as she stepped off the plane shortly after a thunderstorm.
Both sides are skeptical that Yellen’s visit could greatly ease US-China ties, however, with officials accepting that both countries have put national security above economic ties.
“Especially if there are things we can disagree about, it’s even more important that we’re talking,” said a US official who travels with Yellen, speaking on arrival in Beijing.
Yellen will address China’s “unfair” practices, including recent punitive actions against US companies and market access barriers, the official added.
On Friday, she will meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and former economic czar Liu He, who is widely seen as a close confidant of President Xi Jinping.
Ahead of Yellen’s visit, Chinese analysts told state media that her speech in April, which called ensuring the national security interests of the United States and its allies the foundation of economic policy with China, did not inspire optimism.
Yellen will emphasize that the United States does not support decoupling and will call for greater transparency from China on its new espionage law, as well as progress in resolving the international debt problem, the US official added.
While no major breakthroughs are expected, US officials said Yellen would push to open new lines of communication and coordination on economic issues and emphasize the consequences of providing lethal aid to Russia, a claim China has vehemently rejected.
Yellen’s long-awaited trip comes weeks after a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping that mutual rivalry should not escalate into conflict amid a freeze on talks between their military. .
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