US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a panel discussion at the US Embassy in Beijing on July 8, 2023 (POOL/AFP/Mark Schiefelbein)
The United States and China must speak to each other “directly” in the event of concerns about economic practices and collaborate in the face of climate change, pleaded on Saturday the American Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, on the second day of her visit to Beijing.
This four-day visit, a few weeks after that of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, marks the Biden administration’s desire to stabilize the strained relations between the two leading world powers.
“When we have concerns about specific economic practices, we must communicate them directly and we will,” Yellen said during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng, in charge of economic files.
And “the fact that, despite recent tensions, we have achieved a record level of trade in 2022 suggests that there is ample room for our businesses to engage in trade and investment,” added the Commission. Treasury Secretary at Diaoyutai, the Chinese government’s state villa in Beijing.
The meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Bali last November had made it possible to forge “important consensus”, recalled the Chinese Vice-Premier, but “unfortunately, due to unforeseen incidents such as that of the airship, there have been some problems in implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state”.
A Chinese balloon flying over the United States was shot down earlier this year by Washington, who accused it of espionage. The episode had caused the postponement at the last minute of Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing.
But after Ms. Yellen’s visit this week and Friday’s meeting with Premier Li Qiang, He Lifeng said China will “seriously implement the consensus you reached with Premier Li Qiang and translate it into action.” concrete”.
Janet Yellen and He Lifeng’s five-hour meeting was followed by dinner.
On Friday, Ms Yellen also spoke with the Party Secretary of China’s Central Bank, Pan Gongsheng, the US Treasury said.
– Signs of calm –
Earlier in the day, Ms. Yellen had emphasized the fight against climate change, a key area of cooperation for Washington, despite tense bilateral relations.
“As we are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both the joint responsibility – and the ability – to lead the way,” said Ms Yellen, who is making his first trip to Beijing since taking office in 2021.
Calling climate change an “existential threat,” she said “cooperation between the United States and China on climate change financing is essential.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (2nd from right) speaks during a panel discussion at the US Embassy in Beijing on July 8, 2023 (POOL/AFP/Mark Schiefelbein)
China suspended climate talks last summer in protest at the trip to Taiwan of former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
But signs of calm are now appearing: on Friday, a State Department official indicated that the American special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, would visit China soon in order to discuss the possibilities of cooperation with Beijing there in the fight against climate change.
More broadly, Ms. Yellen played appeasement on Friday, calling in particular on Beijing and Washington to join their efforts on global challenges such as debt.
This meeting certainly “set the tone” for the rest of his visit, notes Lyu Xiang, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
– “Strong links” –
On Saturday, the US Treasury Secretary also shared a lunch with women economists, to whom she said US-China relations were “rooted in the strong ties” uniting the two peoples.
“It is important that we continue to nurture and deepen these ties,” especially as China reopens its economy post-pandemic, she said, noting that the United States may have differences with the Chinese government, but not with his people.
US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns (left) with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a roundtable in Beijing on July 8, 2023 (POOL/AFP/Mark Schiefelbein)
The question is whether “subjects that are part of global challenges”, such as over-indebtedness and climate cooperation, will be placed at the top of the priorities, wonders Lindsay Gorman, of the American think tank German Marshall Fund.
On Friday, Janet Yellen also met with officials of American companies present in China. The latter expressed their concerns to him in an increasingly uncertain business climate, against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions between the two great powers.
“Anything that can help improve the relationship between the United States and China, firstly, will help businesses here, the climate for investment, and secondly, will give us more opportunities to cooperate,” he said. AFP Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
© 2023 AFP
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