Yellen: "Not Seeking Decoupling... Expecting Establishment of US-China Dialogue Channels" (Comprehensive)

"US and China Have a Duty to Manage Relations Responsibly"
China Will Clearly Pursue De-risking
"Expect Resilient and Productive Dialogue Channels"

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen emphasized on the 9th that the United States does not seek decoupling from China and stressed the need for clear and direct communication to manage the differences existing between the two countries.

Concluding her visit to China from the 6th to the 9th, Yellen stated at a press conference held at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, "The U.S. and China have a responsibility to manage their relationship responsibly and must make the right choices to advance common interests in terms of peace and prosperity."

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Yellen reiterated, "The United States is not pursuing decoupling from China," and added, "Decoupling and supply chain diversification are clearly distinct." She also made it clear that the U.S. will pursue de-risking measures to block China's access to U.S. strategic technologies from a national security perspective.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang (right) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are having a conversation on the 7th at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Secretary Yellen expressed her position that she wants fair competition based on sound rules with China. 2023.07.07 [Photo by Yonhap News]

She emphasized, "President Joe Biden and I do not view U.S.-China relations through the lens of a clash between superpowers," and said, "We believe the world is big enough for both countries to prosper." The phrase "the world is big enough for both countries to prosper" appears to closely mirror rhetoric used by Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding U.S.-China relations.

Although no breakthrough was made on contentious issues between the U.S. and China during this visit, it suggests the necessity of crisis management to prevent the situation from escalating into a catastrophe.

During her visit, Yellen said there were discussions with China on intellectual property issues and non-market policies, expressing "serious concerns" about China's "unfair economic practices" and coercive measures against U.S. companies.

This is interpreted as a reference to China's actions in May, when Chinese authorities claimed serious security issues were found in products from U.S. semiconductor company Micron and ordered key domestic IT infrastructure operators to stop purchasing their products, as well as the forced investigations this year by Chinese public security authorities into the Beijing office of U.S. private equity firm Mintz Group and the Shanghai office of U.S. consulting firm Bain & Company.

Yellen also stressed that regarding the Ukraine war, it is "essential" that Chinese companies do not provide material support related to the war to Russia or assist in evading sanctions.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

She further noted that she held bilateral talks with Chinese officials for over 10 hours and evaluated the visit as direct, substantive, and productive. She said the talks brought the two countries closer to establishing a firmer foundation for bilateral relations, stating, "We made some progress" and "I believe both sides can build a healthy relationship."

However, Yellen pointed out that differences cannot be resolved all at once and expressed hope that this visit would "help establish resilient and productive channels of dialogue with China's new economic team."

This was Yellen's first visit to China since the new economic team leading Xi Jinping's third term was formed following the Chinese National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (Lianghui) in March. During the visit, she met consecutively with Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng, former Vice Premier Liu He, Minister of Finance Liu Kun, and Pan Gongsheng, Secretary of the Party Committee of the People's Bank of China (the central bank).

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