US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a press conference in Beijing on July 9, 2023 (AFP/Pedro PARDO)
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview Monday after returning from a four-day visit to China that there is “a common desire” to build a “productive relationship” between the two leading powers. world.
“There are challenges, but I believe there is a common desire to stabilize our relationship and work through issues constructively,” Ms Yellen said in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR).
It’s about doing it “openly, with candor and respect, in order to build a productive relationship,” she added.
The Treasury Secretary remained from Thursday to Sunday in China, where she was received by several senior government officials including Prime Minister Li Qiang, and continued to plead for more exchanges and collaborations between the two countries. , despite the differences.
Janet Yellen again praised the quality of her exchanges, describing her trip as a “success”, while acknowledging that the Chinese were “concerned” about the various measures taken by Washington, such as restrictions in terms of exports of certain types of semiconductors, justified by “national security” considerations, she recalled.
“When they observe a sequence of actions, which we have put in place, they are concerned about their cumulative effect and that this could respond to considerations other than national security,” acknowledged Ms. Yellen.
“My job is to try to explain to them that we have tried to be transparent and that the motive and the objective is indeed national security,” she added.
It was Ms Yellen’s first visit to China since taking office in 2021, a trip that came a few weeks after that of Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The White House’s special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, is also due to go there soon.
These trips mark the Biden administration’s desire to stabilize tense bilateral relations, while the United States wishes to lower its level of economic dependence on China, without speaking of “decoupling”, so strengthen their supply chains.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a press conference in Beijing on July 9, 2023 (AFP/Pedro PARDO)
“The vast majority of economic activity in China brings net benefits to China and the United States and does not pose the slightest problem from a national security point of view. It would be disastrous to try to untangle all this economic activity, it would cause disruption to both our economies and the global economy,” Yellen insisted.
The discussions also focused on the evolution of American investments abroad, the Treasury Department said.
The two countries also exchanged on access to the Chinese market and the treatment reserved for American companies, adding that Washington wanted significant commitments, the same source added.
© 2023 AFP
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