Yellen on meeting with Chinese premier: We put ‘our bilateral relationship on more stable footing’

In a meeting Sunday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recognized that the U.S.’s relationship with China is on a “more stable footing” while noting that differences remain, The Associated Press reported.

“While we have more to do, I believe that, over the past year, we have put our bilateral relationship on more stable footing,” Yellen said Sunday during her meeting in Beijing with Li, a top leader in China, per the AP.

“This has not meant ignoring our differences or avoiding tough conversations. It has meant understanding that we can only make progress if we directly and openly communicate with one another,” Yellen added, according to Reuters.

Yellen spent the previous two days meeting with other Chinese leaders for trade and economic-based talks, the Treasury Department confirmed. Following her meeting with Li, Yellen spoke with Beijing Mayor Yin Yong and attended events at Peking University, Reuters reported.

Li, ahead of the 80-minute meeting, told reporters the media’s interest in Yellen’s visit “shows the high expectation they have … and also the expectation and hope to grow” China’s relationship with the U.S., the AP reported.

Contention between the U.S. and China has flared in recent years over a variety of issues, including the U.S.’s sanctions on Chinese citizens and officials, the restricted importance of Chinese semiconductors, and the reignited debate over the Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok.

Both sides have recently signaled an easing of some of the tension, however, and President Biden in December said his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping produced “positive steps.” 

Yellen said both countries have a “duty” to responsibly oversee relations, per Reuters. Li expressed a similar sentiment, noting the countries need to respect one another and be partners, rather than adversaries, the news wire added.

State news agency Xinhua reported Li hopes to “abide by the basic norms of market economy, including fair competition and open cooperation, refrain from turning economic and trade issues into policy or security issues.”

Li noted China and the U.S. have “deeply intertwined economy interests,” and the strengthening of their economic and trade cooperation will benefit each other’s development and global economic growth, per Xinhua.

He later called on the two sides to “strengthen” communication and said China is “willing to strengthen policy coordination with the United States on climate change and other issues,” per Xinhua.

Yellen has repeatedly expressed concerns over China’s rapid production of solar energy, electric vehicles, and lithium-ion batteries, which creates unfair competition that harms American firms and workers and “distorts global prices.”

Li, meanwhile, argued during the meeting that China’s energy development will benefit the “global green and low-carbon transition,” Xinhua reported.