Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Friday to discuss economic collaboration, while also urging the country’s second in command to not let recent frustration over U.S. restrictions on processor chips disrupt mending relations.
“After a round of wind and rain, we will definitely see more rainbows” Li said as Yellen’s plane landed in rainy weather on Thursday.
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Yellen said Washington and Beijing have a duty to work together on matters that impact the world and requested “regular channels of communication.”
While Treasury Yellen will not meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, other senior U.S. officials are due to visit Beijing and encourage Chinese leaders to renew economic interaction between the two countries.
In the interest of national security, Yellen defended U.S. actions to deter Chinese access to technologies like advanced processor chips. She also criticized China’s treatment of U.S. companies during a meeting with businesspeople.
“You may disagree,” Yellen said, “but we should not allow any disagreement to lead to misunderstandings that needlessly worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationships.”
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Yellen also asked for “healthy economic competition” amid Beijing’s ramp up of subsidies and market barriers to protect its companies.
“A fair set of rules will benefit both of our countries,” Yellen said. “We also face important global challenges where the United States and China have a duty to both countries but also to the world to cooperate.”
Meanwhile, Li said conditions between the U.S. and China might improve but did not outline any potential changes in Chinese policies tweaking the U.S. and its partners around the world.
The Chinese finance ministry called Yellen’s visit a “concrete measure” to improving relations started between Xi Jinping and President Biden during a meeting last November.
“There will be no winners in trade wars or ‘decoupling and broken chains,’” the ministry said in a statement. “We hope the United States will take concrete actions to create a favorable environment for the healthy development of economic and trade relations.”
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In March, Xi accused Washington of trying to hamper China’s development, and this week, the Chinese government announced unspecified controls on exports of gallium and germanium, metals used in making semiconductors and solar panels. That announcement jolted South Korea and other countries that import from China.
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Also on Friday, Yellen met with the outgoing governor of China’s central bank, Yi Gang and former Vice Premier Liu He.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.