Current:Home > ContactYellen lands in Beijing for high-stakes meetings with top Chinese officials -AssetBase
Yellen lands in Beijing for high-stakes meetings with top Chinese officials
Charles H. Sloan View
Date:2025-04-08 09:59:35
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing on Thursday for high-stakes meetings with senior Chinese officials. It's her first visit to China as treasury secretary and comes as the U.S. and China have seen escalating tensions over national security and technology.
"I am glad to be in Beijing to meet with Chinese officials and business leaders," Yellen tweeted after arriving in Beijing. "We seek a healthy economic competition that benefits American workers and firms and to collaborate on global challenges. We will take action to protect our national security when needed, and this trip presents an opportunity to communicate and avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding."
Yellen is the second top-ranking Biden administration official to head to China in recent weeks. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Beijing last month, where he met with President Xi Jinping. Blinken said both sides agreed on the need to stabilize the U.S.-China relationship. His visit came after a previously scheduled visit had been rescheduled amid tensions after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon in February. There has also been tension over trade and the U.S. move to block Chinese access to some technologies.
During her two days of meetings, Yellen will be discussing the importance of responsibly managing the U.S.-China relationship and speaking directly about areas of concern, seeking common ground where possible, a senior Treasury official said.
While in Beijing, Yellen will meet with Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People to talk about the economic relationship between the U.S. and China, raise issues of concern and discuss how the world's largest two economies can work together, according to the senior Treasury official. She is not expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Yellen will also meet with her former counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He and with leading representatives of American businesses in China hosted by AmCham, where she will hear directly from them about the opportunities and challenges they're facing in China. Yellen will also attend a dinner hosted by the former governor of the People's Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan.
"We don't expect specific policy breakthroughs in these meetings, but we do hope to have and expect to have frank and productive conversations that will help lay the groundwork for future communication," the senior Treasury official said.
In April, Yellen delivered a speech laying out three key principles of the U.S. approach to its economic relationship with China. The three pillars include targeted actions to protect America's national security and human rights, achieving a healthy competitive economic relationship between the two countries that benefits both and seeking cooperation between the two countries to address global challenges.
One of these is climate change — Yellen and Chinese officials are expected to discuss efforts by their countries, the world's two largest polluters, to combat it. They will also be tackling the question of how to help developing countries facing debt.
The relationship between the U.S. and China is a complicated one, as Yellen pointed out in her April address. She recalled in the years after President Nixon visited China, it implemented market reforms and engaged with the global economy, "driving an impressive rise into the second-largest economy in the world." The U.S. and international institutions helped China integrate into global markets and supported its economic development, she noted. But China's approach to the world has shifted in recent years, Yellen said, deciding "to pivot away from market reforms toward a more state-driven approach that has undercut its neighbors and countries across the world." And that's been accompanied by "a more confrontational posture" toward the U.S. and its allies.
But Yellen and senior officials emphasize that the U.S. does not support decoupling the two economies. She argues that the U.S. needs to diversify supply chains and protect against overdependence.
Amid increased tensions, the U.S. recently warned a new Chinese anti-espionage law could put American companies at greater risk for penalties for regular business activities. The new legislation went into effect on July 1. Last month the State Department also updated its travel advisory to China to the "risk of wrongful detentions." Americans are being warned to reconsider travel there.
- In:
- Economy
- Janet Yellen
- China
CBS News reporter covering economic policy.
TwitterveryGood! (23)
Related
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Top remaining NFL free agents: Ranking the 25 best players still available
- 11-foot, 750-pound blind alligator seized from Hamburg, NY, home, gator used as attraction
- Former Tesla worker settles discrimination case, ending appeals over lowered $3.2 million verdict
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Is Jason Momoa Irish? 'Aquaman' actor stars in Guinness ad ahead of St. Patrick's Day
- Meet the underdogs who overcame significant obstacles to become one of the world's top dog-sledding teams
- Love Is Blind's Cameron Hamilton Reveals Why He and Lauren Weren't at the Season 6 Reunion
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Steelers trade QB Kenny Pickett to Eagles, clearing way for Russell Wilson to start, per reports
Ranking
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Coroner identifies 3 men who were found fatally shot in northwestern Indiana home
- The Daily Money: Do you hoard credit-card perks?
- Kim Kardashian Appears to Joke About Finding Kate Middleton Amid Photo Controversy
- North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
- Texas teens need parental consent for birth control, court rules against fed regulations
- Utah governor replaces social media laws for youth as state faces lawsuits
- Interest in TikTok, distressed NY bank has echoes of Mnuchin’s pre-Trump investment playbook
Recommendation
The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
Top remaining NFL free agents: Ranking the 25 best players still available
Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth among PGA Tour stars who miss cut at Players Championship
Kristen Doute Reveals Her Honest Opinion on Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright's Breakup
Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
WATCH: NC State forces overtime with incredible bank-shot 3-pointer, defeats Virginia
Riley Gaines among more than a dozen college athletes suing NCAA over transgender policies
Get Your Carts Ready! Free People’s Sale Is Heating Up, With Deals of up to 95% Off