China Talks Productive, Yellen Says

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen yesterday described her meetings with top Chinese officials as “direct, substantive and productive,” but acknowledged “significant differences” remain.

Ms. Yellen spoke to reporters at the end of a four-day visit to Beijing that she called a “step forward” in stabilizing rocky US-China relations.

“We were able to learn more about each other’s economies and policy choices, which I believe is vital as the world’s two largest economies,” she said. “Even where we don’t see eye-to-eye, I believe there is clear value in the frank and in-depth discussions we had on the opportunities and challenges in our relationship, and the better understanding it gave us of each country’s actions and intentions.”

She reiterated the Administration’s stance that Washington is not seeking an economic decoupling from Beijing. “There is an important distinction between decoupling, on the one hand, and on the other hand, diversifying critical supply chains or taking targeted national security actions,” she said. “We know that a decoupling of the world’s two largest economies would be disastrous for both countries and destabilizing for the world. And it would be virtually impossible to undertake.”

Ms. Yellen said she pressed Chinese officials on US concerns about Beijing’s unfair economic practices, including “the breadth and depth of China’s non-market policies, along with barriers to market access for foreign firms and issues involving intellectual property. Fair treatment is critical so American firms and workers compete on a level playing field – and benefit economically from trade and
investment with China and the huge market it presents for American goods and services. I also expressed my worries about a recent uptick in coercive actions against American firms.”

She also told Chinese officials that the United States will continue to take “targeted actions” to protect its national security interests. Beijing is complaining about export controls imposed on high- technology products to China.