(Beijing) The United States and China must speak to each other “directly” in the event of concerns about economic practices and collaborate in the face of climate change, pleaded on Saturday US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, on the second day of her visit to Beijing. Beijing.
After his meeting with Mr.me Yellen, Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng, for his part, deplored that “unforeseen incidents” have hampered the Sino-American relationship, citing the Chinese balloon shot down at the start of the year by Washington.
“When we have concerns about specific economic practices, we must communicate them directly and we will,” said Ms.me Yellen during a meeting with He Lifeng, in charge of economic files.
PHOTO MARK SCHIEFELBEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Janet Yellen and Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng
And “the fact that, despite recent tensions, we have achieved a record level of trade in 2022 suggests that there is ample room for our businesses to engage in trade and investment,” added the Commission. Treasury Secretary at Diaoyutai, the Chinese government’s state villa in Beijing.
The visit of M.me Yellen comes a few weeks after that of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a desire by the Biden administration to renew physical contact with Beijing, after three years of almost total isolation from China due to the health crisis.
The meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Bali last November had made it possible to forge “important consensus”, recalled the Chinese Vice Prime Minister, but “unfortunately, due to unforeseen incidents such as that of the airship, there have been some problems in implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state”.
A Chinese balloon flying over the United States was shot down earlier this year by Washington, which accused it of carrying out surveillance. The episode had caused the postponement at the last minute of Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing.
Signs of calm
Earlier today, M.me Yellen had emphasized tackling climate change, a key area of cooperation for Washington, despite strained bilateral relations.
“As we are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world and the largest investors in renewable energy, we have both the shared responsibility — and the ability — to lead the way,” said Mr.me Yellen, who is making his first trip to Beijing since taking office in 2021.
Calling climate change an “existential threat,” she said “cooperation between the United States and China on climate change financing is essential.”
China suspended climate talks last summer in protest at the trip to Taiwan of former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
But signs of calm are now appearing: on Friday, a State Department official indicated that the American special envoy for the climate, John Kerry, would visit China soon to discuss the possibilities of cooperation with Beijing in the fight against climate change.
More broadly, M.me Yellen played appeasement on Friday, notably calling on Beijing and Washington to join forces on global challenges like debt.
This meeting certainly “set the tone” for the rest of his visit, notes Lyu Xiang, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“Strong Bonds”
On Saturday, the US Treasury Secretary also shared a meal with female economists, to whom she said US-China relations were “rooted in the strong ties” uniting the two peoples.
PHOTO MARK SCHIEFELBEIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Janet Yellen met women economists over dinner.
“It is important that we continue to nurture and deepen these ties,” especially as China reopens its economy after the pandemic, she said, noting that the United States may have differences with the Chinese government, but not with his people.
The question is whether “the subjects that are part of the global challenges”, such as over-indebtedness and cooperation on the climate, will be placed at the top of the priorities, wonders Lindsay Gorman, of the American think tank German Marshall Fund.
On Friday, Janet Yellen also met with officials of American companies present in China. The latter expressed their concerns to him in an increasingly uncertain business climate, against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions between the two great powers.
“Anything that can help improve the relationship between the United States and China, firstly, will help businesses here, the investment climate, and secondly, will give us more opportunities to cooperate,” he said. AFP Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.