Janet Yellen speaks on US-China relations, says, ‘One visit will not solve…’

“No one visit will solve our challenges overnight. But I expect that this trip will help build a resilient and productive channel of communication with China’s new economic team,” Yellen said.

Yellen said the objective of the visit was to establish and deepen ties to China’s new economic team, reduce the risk of misunderstanding, and pave the way for cooperation in areas such as climate change and debt distress.

She reiterated that Washington was not seeking to decouple from China’s economy, adding doing so would be “disastrous for both countries and destabilizing for the world.”

But she said the United States wanted to see an “open, free and fair economy,” not one that forces countries to take sides.

She said she used the discussions to raise “serious concerns” about what she called China’s “unfair economic practices” and the recent uptick in coercive actions against the US firms.

Yellen also discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine and suggested it was “essential” that Chinese firms avoid providing Russia with material support for the war, or in evading sanctions.

Yellen also called on China to work with the US to fight the “existential threat” of climate change. She said the two countries – the largest greenhouse gas emitters – had a joint responsibility to lead the way on climate action.

Yellen asked China to support US-led institutions like the Green Climate Fund to mitigate future crises.

Yellen is the second senior Washington official to visit Beijing in the last two months. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing last month, making him the highest-ranking Washington official to visit Beijing in almost half a decade. He met President Xi Jinping and foreign minister Qin Gang.

Yellen’s visit is is aimed at easing tensions and restoring ties between the world’s two superpowers.

Updated: 09 Jul 2023, 07:15 AM IST