BEIJING: As US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to arrive in Beijing on Thursday to kick off a long-awaited visit, many in China are watching the latest round of talks between Chinese and US officials with mixed feelings, with businesses and analysts welcoming the trip while remaining cautious over the potential breakthroughs it could achieve.
At the heart of such mixed feelings is the question of the US’ sincerity in not only pursuing productive communication with China, but also earnestly addressing each other’s core concerns, experts noted. To many Chinese, US officials, including Yellen, have repeatedly stated they do not seek to decouple from China or contain China, but their actions, that range from lingering tariffs on Chinese goods to blatant crackdowns on Chinese firms and strict restrictions of high-tech supplies, show the exact opposite.
Facing such a two-faced approach by Washington, China is well-prepared to respond in kind by maintaining communication with US officials, while also taking necessary measures to firmly safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests against US aggression, industry insiders and experts said, pointing to the recent announcement of export controls on two metals crucial for the making of chips and other high-tech components.
Yellen is due to arrive in China on Thursday and will visit through Sunday, during which she is expected to meet senior Chinese officials. The trip has garnered widespread global attention as talks between Chinese and US officials in recent months have increased. It comes just weeks after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China, and as the world faces serious challenges from an economic downturn and debt distresses to climate change, which all require cooperation between the world’s two biggest economies.
“I can’t say anything about ‘expectations,’ but the hope is that there will be some relaxation [in tensions] between China and the US, including trade, finance, technology and even business exchanges, especially in the current situation where the global economy is under pressure,” an insider in the Chinese mechanical and electrical industry who is closely involved in businesses in the US told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Such low expectations are shared by many, including apparently US officials. “No major breakthroughs are expected, but Yellen will push to open new lines of communication and coordination on economic matters, and stress the consequences of supplying lethal aid to Russia,” US officials said, Reuters reported on Wednesday. Citing US National Foreign Trade Council President Jake Colvin, Reuters reported that the trip “won’t end $360 billion in tariffs imposed under former president Donald Trump, or export controls that have gathered steam under [US President Joe Biden].” –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
