Washington and Beijing should maintain direct contact on specific economic practices, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday, calling for more cooperation between the world’s two largest economies despite their complicated relationship.
/nginx/o/2023/07/08/15443433t1h2fc2.jpg "Foreign Today, 15:124 Jelena calls on China to solve economic issues through direct talks 2")
Washington and Beijing should maintain direct contact on specific economic practices, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday, calling for more cooperation between the world’s two largest economies despite their complicated relationship.
Jelena has gone on a four-day visit to Beijing, as the United States tries to ease tensions and highlight opportunities for the two superpowers to cooperate.
On Saturday, during a meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifen, Jelena stated that last year bilateral trade reached record levels, which proves how closely interconnected the two countries are.
The US finance minister emphasized that the companies of both countries have ample opportunities to engage in trade and investment. She also called for “when there are concerns about specific economic practices, we should and will communicate about them directly.”
Chinese Vice Premier He admitted that Beijing was sorry that “unexpected incidents” had prevented China and the United States from improving relations after the two countries’ presidents, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, met last November.
He vowed that China would “honestly implement” the agreements reached in talks between Yelena and Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Friday.
Also, in a conversation with Chinese Prime Minister Li Yelena, she emphasized that Washington and Beijing should cooperate on global economic and financial issues in order to solve international problems, such as the debt burden.
The US Treasury Department revealed that the purpose of Yelena’s visit is to expand lines of communication to avoid misunderstandings and to expand cooperation between the two countries on the global economy, climate change, debt problems and other issues. During such visits, the officials also usually have the opportunity to talk about the growth prospects of their countries.
On Saturday, in a discussion with experts, Jelena emphasized that cooperation between the two superpowers in attracting climate finance is crucial.
“As both the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases and the largest investors in renewable energy, we both have a responsibility and an opportunity to lead the way,” she said.
China announced last year that it was suspending climate talks after then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, visited Beijing-claimed Taiwan.
However, negotiations could now resume. US climate envoy John Kerry is scheduled to visit China soon.
On Saturday, Jelena also met with economists, emphasizing the strengthening of US-China relations in the strong ties between the American and Chinese peoples. The US Treasury Secretary acknowledged that the US and Chinese governments may have different policies, but their peoples have much in common.
