US Treasury Secretary Yellen Meets with People's Bank of China Governor... Will Xi Jinping-Biden Summit Take Place?

As the United States and China accelerate efforts to improve relations, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen is scheduled to hold talks this week with Pan Gongsheng, the governor of China's central bank, the People's Bank of China.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Bloomberg, on the 11th (local time), Secretary Yellen announced at a press conference during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) joint annual meetings held in Marrakech, Morocco, that she plans to meet with Pan Gongsheng later this week. During the meeting, Secretary Yellen intends to discuss financial issues and macroeconomic matters between the U.S. and China.

The U.S. has had tensions with China after shooting down a Chinese reconnaissance balloon in February this year and subsequently imposing semiconductor export controls on China, but in recent months both countries have been making efforts to improve their relationship.

In June, Secretary of State Tony Blinken visited China, marking the first visit by a U.S. Secretary of State in five years, and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In July, Treasury Secretary Yellen and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry visited China, followed by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visiting Beijing and Shanghai in August. Last month, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a surprise meeting in Malta.

With signs of U.S.-China relations recovering, there is speculation that a summit between President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping could take place during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit scheduled next month in California. If the U.S.-China summit occurs, it would be the first since the G20 summit held in Bali, Indonesia, in November last year.

Bloomberg reported, "If a reconciliation atmosphere is created following Secretary Yellen’s meeting, the next step could be for senior Chinese officials to visit the United States, which could help pave the way for a summit between the President and President Xi."

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