Yellen says 'direct, 'productive' Beijing talks a step forward in putting U.S.-China ties on 'surer footing'

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said 10 hours of meetings with Chinese officials successful 2 days were "direct, substantive and productive" and was a measurement guardant successful helping to acceptable relations betwixt the world's 2 largest economies connected a "surer footing."

Yellen's Beijing travel comes astatine a clip erstwhile Washington is considering curbs connected U.S. concern successful China amid an escalating planetary conflict for technological supremacy. She is the 2nd subordinate of U.S. President Joe Biden's furniture to sojourn Beijing successful caller weeks amid efforts to stabilize ties betwixt the 2 powers.

"The U.S. and China person important disagreements. Those disagreements request to beryllium communicated intelligibly and directly," Yellen said successful prepared remarks. "But President [Joe] Biden and I bash not spot the narration betwixt the U.S. and China done the framework of large powerfulness conflict."

"We judge that the satellite is large capable for some of our countries to thrive. Both nations person an work to responsibly negociate this relationship: to find a mode to unrecorded unneurotic and stock successful planetary prosperity," she added.

In comments astatine a press conference capping her four-day Beijing visit, Yellen said she told her Chinese counterparts that immoderate curbs connected U.S. outbound investments would beryllium "transparent" and "very narrowly targeted."

Otherwise, she added, Chinese officials tin rise their concerns and U.S. volition successful immoderate cases, code unintended consequences.

"Broadly speaking, I judge that my bilateral meetings – which totaled astir 10 hours implicit 2 days – served arsenic a measurement guardant successful our effort to enactment the U.S.-China narration connected surer footing," Yellen concluded.

Just days earlier Yellen's visit, Beijing had slapped export curbs connected chipmaking metals and its compounds — an announcement that China's Ministry of Commerce claimed to person informed the U.S. and Europe successful advance. In October, the U.S. launched sweeping rules aimed at cutting disconnected exports of cardinal chips and semiconductor tools to China. 

Yellen said she "made wide that the United States is not seeking to decouple from China," successful her discussions with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng and different elder officials.

"There is an important favoritism betwixt decoupling, connected the 1 hand, and connected the different hand, diversifying captious proviso chains oregon taking targeted nationalist information actions," she said.

"We cognize that a decoupling of the world's 2 largest economies would beryllium disastrous for some countries and destabilizing for the world," she added. "And it would beryllium virtually intolerable to undertake."

China Vice Premier He said Saturday talks with Yellen were "constructive," according to a Chinese authorities readout.

"Noting that the overstretching of nationalist information does nary bully to the mean economical and commercialized exchanges, the Chinese broadside expressed concerns implicit the sanctions and restrictions imposed by the United States connected China," the aforesaid connection said.

"The 2 sides agreed to fortify connection and practice connected addressing planetary challenges, and proceed maintaining exchanges and interactions," the connection added.

Yellen's task successful Beijing was a tricky one. While she expressed her worries connected "a caller uptick successful coercive actions against American firms," she besides sought to question Chinese practice connected issues ranging from indebtedness distress successful emerging markets and processing countries to clime change. 

These are principles she laid retired successful an April code wherever she stressed the importance of fairness in the U.S. economical contention with China.

Then, she had outlined three economical priorities for the U.S.-China relationship: securing nationalist information interests and protecting quality rights, fostering mutually beneficial maturation and cooperating connected planetary challenges similar clime alteration and indebtedness distress.

"I judge that if China were to enactment existing multilateral clime institutions similar the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Investment Funds alongside america and different donor governments, we could person a greater interaction than we bash today," Yellen said up of a Friday clime concern roundtable successful Beijing.

Yellen's sojourn is portion of ongoing efforts to stabilize U.S.-China relations aft months of escalating tensions. Her sojourn came conscionable weeks aft Secretary of State Antony Blinken's sojourn past month.

"My nonsubjective during this travel has been to found and deepen relationships with the caller economical enactment squad successful spot successful Beijing. Our discussions are portion of a broader concerted effort to stabilize the relationship, trim the hazard of misunderstanding, and sermon areas of cooperation," Yellen said Saturday.

These efforts could pave the mode for a gathering betwixt Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping connected the sidelines of the G20 leaders' acme successful New Delhi successful September and the APEC leaders' acme successful San Francisco successful November. Both leaders past met successful Bali past year.

"No 1 sojourn volition lick our challenges overnight," Yellen said. "But I expect that this travel volition assistance physique a resilient and productive transmission of connection with China's caller economical team."