Yellen sets meeting with China’s Liu
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will hold her first face-to-face meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He on Jan. 18 in Zurich, making a detour on her way to talks in Africa.
The pair “will exchange views on macroeconomic developments and other economic is- sues,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed the meeting late Monday, saying it’s aimed at strengthening economic and financial policy coordination, and implementing the agreements made during a summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Joe Biden late last year. Trade teams have maintained “sound communication,” the ministry said.
The surprise announcements follow the November meeting of Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
It was the first face-to-face session for the heads of state and has initiated a modest thawing of relations between the two governments.
Despite that, the Wednesday morning meeting in Switzerland could be contentious as Washington and Beijing continue to squabble over trade, human rights and the autonomy of Taiwan. In recent months Yellen has championed a so-called “friend-shoring” policy that would see the U.S. and its allies rely less on China for the supply of critical goods.
That and efforts to deny China access to technologies, including advanced semiconductors, has led Beijing to accuse the U.S. of economic protectionism and to file a dispute with the World Trade Organization.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Beijing early in 2023. Yellen said in December she had no specific plans for a similar trip but was open to that possibility.