BEIJING: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that her discussions with top Chinese officials have helped put relations on “surer footing”, as she wrapped up a visit aimed at stabilizing fraught ties between the two biggest economic powerhouses.
During her four-day visit, Yellen emphasized the need for healthy economic competition and solid communication and urged cooperation on climate change’s “existential threat”.
She told journalists that the United States believed that the world was big enough for both countries to thrive. The Washington and Beijing are obliged to responsibly manage their ties, to find a way to peacefully live together and play their part in the global development and prosperity, AFP reported.
While it did not produce specific breakthroughs, Yellen’s visit furthers a push by President Joe Biden’s administration to steady relations with China.
US, China Agree to Continue Exchanges
Beijing’s official Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday that Yellen’s meeting with Vice prime minister He Lifeng yielded a deal to strengthen cooperation and communication in addressing global challenges. Both countries also agreed to continue exchanges.
Yellen said on Sunday that although there were considerable disagreements between the two nations, she held direct, productive, and substantive discussions with Chinese officials. The meetings, which lasted about ten hours, served as a step forward to put the bilateral ties on a srong and surer footing.
On Sunday, the US Treasury Secretary said that she had emphasized that Washington’s moves are not to gain economic advantage. These are motivated only by the considerations of national security.
And with the United States considering fresh restrictions that could more strictly regulate US outbound investment to China, Yellen said that any new measures would be implemented in “a transparent way”.
