Yellen's China visit aims at 'new normal' with Beijing
Send a link to a friend
[July 05, 2023]
By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Janet Yellen's first trip to China as U.S.
Treasury Secretary will focus on recalibrating ties between the world's
two largest economies as military communications remain frozen and
Beijing's new restrictions on exports of some metals spark fresh
tensions.
U.S. officials say they expect "candid" discussions during Yellen's July
6-9 trip, after Beijing's abrupt announcement on Monday of controls on
exports of some gallium and germanium products widely used in
semiconductors, as well as a new counterespionage law, both seen as
potentially harmful to U.S. firms.
No major breakthroughs are expected, but Yellen will push to open new
lines of communication and coordination on economic matters, and stress
the consequences of supplying lethal aid to Russia, U.S. officials say.
Chinese officials are concerned about the Biden administration's plans
to limit U.S. companies' China investments and what they see as moves to
decouple the two economies. China's economy is recovering more slowly
than expected from COVID lockdowns and the job market is tough.
Yellen's long-anticipated trip follows weeks after Secretary of State
Antony Blinken visited Beijing and agreed with Chinese President Xi
Jinping that the two countries' rivalry should not veer into conflict,
and amid a freeze in military communications between the two nations.
"There is no substitute for diplomacy," said one senior administration
official. "A phone call is just not the same."
Wu Xinbo, a professor at China's Fudan University, described Yellen as a
"voice of reason" within the Biden administration, and said China hopes
Yellen's visit can "improve the mood" for potential future talks with
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on tariffs and sanctions on Chinese
tech companies.
But some critics said the meetings were sidestepping important issues.
Derek Scissors, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute,
said Yellen was embarking on "an empty trip," given China's refusal to
engage on potentially dangerous military issues.
"They look like supplicants. On the security side, the Chinese won't
talk to us, so it looks like the economic side is being used as a
substitute," he said. "It's not unimportant, but it's unpleasant and
odd."
IMPROVING COMMUNICATION
Yellen is expected to focus on economic issues, but she will remind
Chinese counterparts that any move to supply lethal aid to Russia - in
violation of sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine - could trigger
sanctions on Chinese entities, one senior administration official said.
"We routinely hear Chinese assurances that they will not deliver lethal
assistance. We are holding them to that, and we'll continue to watch,"
the official said.
The U.S. believes China is unnerved by last month's mutiny by Russia's
Wagner mercenary group and the weakness of the Russian military, the
official said, but Beijing relies on a stable Russia for food and fuel.
[to top of second column]
|
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
discusses "U.S.-China Economic Relationship" during a forum hosted
by the Johns Hopkins University at the Nitze Building in Washington,
U.S., April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo
Both Blinken and Yellen's visits are seen as critical to improving
communication after the U.S. military shot down a Chinese spy
balloon over the United States, and ahead of a possible meeting
between President Joe Biden and Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation meeting in San Francisco in November.
"Secretary Yellen’s trip is more than a step toward preparation for
a potential Biden-Xi meeting at APEC. The top economic officials of
the world’s two largest economies have barely spoken to each other
in over three years, and that is dangerous for the global economy,"
said Scott Kennedy with the Center for Strategic and International
Studies.
TRADE TARIFFS REMAIN
National Foreign Trade Council President Jake Colvin said the trip
could help define a "new normal" and establish a floor under the
bilateral relationship. But it won't end $360 billion in tariffs
imposed under former President Donald Trump, or export controls that
have gathered steam under Biden.
Despite the cooling relations, trade between the U.S. and China grew
in 2022 for the third year in a row, U.S. Commerce Department data
show.
"There's still opportunity in China for American businesses, farmers
and workers," Colvin said. "We can't just be looking at this
exclusively through the lens of de-risking."
Yellen will emphasize the need to work with Beijing on climate
change, pandemic preparedness and debt distress, even as Washington
continues to take targeted actions over human rights or security
concerns, a senior Treasury official said.
She will tell her Chinese counterparts that Washington is not
seeking to decouple the two economies, which together account for
40% of global economic output, while reserving the right to protect
human rights and U.S. national security interests through targeted
actions, the official added.
Yellen will meet for the first time with China's new Vice Premier He
Lifeng, after seeing his predecessor, Liu He, in Zurich in January,
one administration official said, predicting a different dynamic
with the new vice premier, a Xi loyalist who is less comfortable in
English and hails from a planning background, not finance and
economics. "I would suspect it will be more formal," the official
said.
Two other Cabinet secretaries, Commerce chief Raimondo and U.S.
Trade Representative Katherine Tai, met in May with Chinese Commerce
Minister Wang Wentao. U.S. officials are also hoping to expand
economic communication channels below the Cabinet level.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Michael Martina
in Washington and Lun Tian Yew in Beijing; Editing by Dan Burns,
Heather Timmons and Andrea Ricci)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |