Yellen stresses ‘fair’ rules, communication in Beijing meetings

The USA and China, the world’s two biggest economies, must compete fairly and communicate closely to avoid misunderstandings, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in Beijing on Saturday.

Yellen, continuing her meetings with top Chinese officials, told Vice Premier He Lifeng that a 2022 record in bilateral U.S.-Chinese trade — set despite recent tensions — showed there may be “ample room for our firms to have interaction in trade and investment.”

But it surely was critical to maintain talking about areas of common interest, in addition to disagreements, she said in prepared remarks.

Meeting her on the Diaoyutai state guest house, where foreign dignitaries are sometimes received in Beijing, He said he stood able to work with Yellen.

“Amid an advanced global economic outlook, there may be a pressing need for the 2 largest economies to closely communicate and exchange views on our responses to numerous challenges,” she said.

Doing so could “help either side more fully understand the worldwide economic outlook and make higher decisions to strengthen our economies,” she said.

Despite talk of U.S.-China economic decoupling, recent data show a trade relationship that’s fundamentally solid, with two-way trade hitting a record $690 billion last yr.

Yellen repeated her mantra that Washington just isn’t in search of a winner-take-all approach or economic advantage in its relations with China, but wanted to make sure a healthy competition with a “fair algorithm” that may profit each countries over time.

The USA would proceed to speak directly its concerns about specific economic practices, and would take targeted actions to guard its national security, Yellen said.

She urged China not to permit any disagreements to “result in misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a scarcity of communication, which might unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.”