Yellen-Liu He Call... "Bilateral Cooperation Discussed in Macroeconomic Field" (Summary)

US-China High-Level Economic Talks Continue... Dialogue Amid Conflict

Liu He, Vice Premier of China (left), and Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held a video call to discuss bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy and trade.

According to Bloomberg and Xinhua News Agency on the 26th, Secretary Yellen and Vice Premier Liu discussed the macroeconomic situation as well as multilateral and bilateral cooperation during the call held that morning.

Xinhua reported that both sides had a practical, candid, and constructive dialogue, agreeing that amid the current critical period for the global economic recovery, it is very important for the two countries to communicate and cooperate on macroeconomic policy.

Secretary Yellen and Vice Premier Liu previously held their first video call since the inauguration of the Biden administration on June 2.

During this call, the Chinese side conveyed its demands, including the removal of the U.S.'s high tariffs on Chinese goods and sanctions against Chinese companies.

China has persistently demanded the removal of high tariffs and sanctions during major contacts with the U.S.

Even after the Phase One trade agreement with China, the U.S. has continued to impose a 25% tariff on Chinese products worth approximately $250 billion annually (about 294 trillion KRW), and China has maintained retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products.

Despite these demands from China, the Biden administration recently outlined the basic framework of its China trade strategy, which includes maintaining high tariffs on Chinese goods and insisting on compliance with the Phase One trade agreement.

In particular, U.S. authorities continue to raise concerns about China's human rights issues, maintaining pressure and checks.

The Chinese government strongly objects to the U.S.'s stringent sanctions targeting its advanced industries such as 5G and semiconductors, but there are no signs of easing sanctions against Chinese companies under the Biden administration.

President Biden has also expressed his determination to tighten the reins on China by continuously raising human rights issues such as forced labor of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and the suppression of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, building an alliance front with Western democratic countries.

Recently, the U.S. launched the so-called 'AUKUS' security alliance among English-speaking countries including the UK and Australia, aimed at countering China.

However, despite the all-out confrontation between the U.S. and China, high-level contacts including in the economic sector continue, creating a phase of 'dialogue amid conflict.'

Vice Premier Liu was the Chinese negotiator in trade talks with the U.S. during the Trump administration. Since the start of the Biden administration earlier this year, he has maintained contact with Secretary Yellen and Katherine Tai, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

Earlier this month, Representative Tai announced plans to exclude some Chinese imports from high tariff imposition.

Through a meeting on the 6th (local time) in Zurich between Jake Sullivan, U.S. National Security Advisor, and Yang Jiechi, member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party responsible for foreign affairs, an agreement was reached for President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping to hold a video summit within this year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.