Yellen to meet China's vice premier Liu He in Zurich on Wednesday -U.S.
Treasury
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[January 16, 2023] By
Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Switzerland on Wednesday to exchange
views on economic developments and deepen communication between the
world's two largest economies, a Treasury official said.
Yellen's first in-person meeting with Liu is part of a pledge by both
countries to work to ease tensions following President Joe Biden's talks
with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Indonesia in November.
Yellen will meet Liu in Zurich on the eve of her three-country visit to
Africa, where she will focus on strengthening U.S. ties with a continent
that has long been the focus of Chinese trade and investment, and issues
such as food security.
China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, is just wrapping up five-country
tour of Africa, the 33rd consecutive year that Africa has been the
destination of the Chinese foreign minister's first overseas tour of the
calendar year.
In an interview aired Saturday on National Public Radio, Yellen
acknowledged that China had played "a leading role" in lending to and
trading with African nations, but said African leaders had made clear at
a conference last month in Washington that they were seeking more U.S.
engagement.
"It's clear that they want to expand trade and investment with many
parts of the world and see the United States as a critical partner in
that growth. And that's something that's important to us as well,"
Yellen said.
Chinese trade with Africa is about four times that of the United States,
and Beijing has become an important creditor by offering cheaper loans -
often with opaque terms and collateral requirements - than Western
lenders. But some African countries, including Zambia, have soured on
Chinese lending and are looking for alternatives, economic analysts
said.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
presides over the unveiling of the first U.S. banknotes printed with
two women's signatures at an event in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.,
December 8, 2022. REUTERS/Shelby Tauber/File Photo
Yellen's meeting with Liu is expected to touch on the debt issue and
other significant differences between the two nations.
Yellen has repeatedly criticized Beijing - now the world's largest
creditor - for not moving more quickly to restructure the debt of
poor countries in Africa, and often raises concerns about forced
labor used in China's Xinjiang province.
In July, when she spoke with Liu by phone, Treasury said she also
spoke "frankly" about the impact of Russia's war against Ukraine on
the global economy, and China's "unfair, non-market" economic
practices.
Liu is in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos,
which Yellen does not plan to attend. Other senior U.S. officials
will represents Washington there, including U.S. Trade
Representative Katherine Tai and climate envoy John Kerry.
Yellen has met virtually three times with Liu since taking office,
and met in Bali with Chinese central bank governor Yi Gang. Liu will
step down this year as part of an overhaul of China's economic
leadership disclosed in September.
In December, the former Federal Reserve chair told reporters she was
also open to visiting China and looked forward to more "intense
interactions" with Chinese officials than in the first two years of
Biden's four-year term.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; editing by Grant McCool)
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