Beijing hopes Yellen visit will put China, US relations on right track

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Jul 2023 15:46

The US Treasury Secretary says she supports responsibly managing the bilateral relations between the two countries.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during the daily press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC on May 7, 2021 (AFP)

China hopes that the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to the country would create a common ground for Beijing and Washington to manage their differences and resolve their disputes.

Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng expressed a desire that both countries would "meet each other halfway," boost dialogue and cooperation, and implement the crucial consensus between the country's leaders.

Xie considered that the objective is to redirect relations onto the right track.

According to the US Treasury Department, Yellen supports the "ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the US-China bilateral relationship".

The Treasury Secretary is scheduled to travel to Beijing later this week on a 3-day visit (July 6-9) to discuss with her counterparts the status of Chinese-American ties after they had deteriorated earlier this year over several incidents.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said the objective of the relationship is "to responsibly manage our relationship [Sino-American relations], communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges."

She will be discussing with her Chinese counterparts how Washington views its economic relationship with China, a Treasury Department spokesperson announced.

"Yelen will discuss the importance of our countries - as the world's two largest economies - as well as responsibly managing our relationship, communicating directly on areas of common interest, and working together to address global challenges," the statement said.

Yellen's visit comes just weeks after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made a long-stalled visit to China.

While the general outcome of Blinken's was described as positive, US President Joe Biden shortly made an aggressive statement during a party for his party's donors, where he directly attacked Xi by calling him a "dictator". The State Secretary then expressed support for his President, considering that "he speaks for all of us."