By Christopher McCallion
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s trip to China last week was the latest in a series of efforts to dampen tensions between the United States and China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Qin Gang last month were, remarkably, the first visit by a high-ranking American diplomat to Beijing in nearly five years. In May, national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna to “reestablish standard, normal channels of communication.”
Secretary Yellen’s recent trip comes in the wake of Chinese restrictions on rare minerals used for producing semiconductors, a retaliation for sweeping U.S. export restrictions on chips and chip-making technology to China. In April, Yellen gave a speech attempting to set limits on U.S. economic and technological competition with China. During her visit last week, Yellen reiterated this view, stating that the United States seeks “to diversify, not to decouple” from the Chinese economy.
This piece was originally published in The Messenger on July 10, 2023. Read more HERE.