The US Treasury Department said on Tuesday that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will talk about the main goals of the Biden administration for economic relations between the United States and China in a speech in Washington on Thursday, as tensions between the world’s two largest economies prevented high-level meetings.
The Treasury Department said in a statement that Yellen, who said last week she still hopes to visit Beijing to meet her new Chinese economic counterparts, will make comments at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
In her speech, Yellen will outline the economic priorities of the Biden administration with regard to China, including protecting US national security interests, promoting “healthy” competition and, where possible, cooperation on global issues such as climate change, debt relief, and macroeconomic stability.
Yellen is also expected to highlight the economic strength of the United States.
The Treasury Department, which will also talk about growth-enhancing investments in infrastructure, advanced manufacturing semiconductors, clean energy and power technologies, said.
The speech schedule follows the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s Spring Meetings last week, during which Yellen interacted with Chinese financial officials, including People’s Bank of China Governor Yi Gang, in plenary sessions and a roundtable discussion on ways to improve debt relief for the poor. countries.
After US President Joe Biden met Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali, Yellen interacted with her Chinese colleagues on several occasions, including a January meeting in Zurich with then-Deputy Prime Minister Liu He, where they agreed to improve communication. On macroeconomic and financial issues.
Face-to-face meetings have since been postponed amid controversy over the shooting down of a Chinese observation balloon passing over the US mainland and tensions over Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with US actor Kevin McCarthy.
The speech comes at an opportune time, a Treasury official said, after Yellen also spoke with counterparts from the G7 democracies, Australia and New Zealand, last week. Others listening to the remarks include China’s new economic leadership team led by Vice Premier He Lifeng, Liu’s replacement.
The Treasury Department said Yellen would set U.S. priorities “to secure our national security interests and protect human rights, including targeted actions to advance our vital interests when appropriate.”
The Treasury Department said it will also stress the need for “healthy and mutually beneficial economic competition with a level playing field for American workers and businesses, including by working with our allies to pressure China about its unfair economic practices.”
