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US-China relations
EconomyChina Economy

China’s Vice-Premier Liu to meet US Treasury Secretary Yellen this week

  • Washington says aim is to ‘deepen communication’; Beijing calls the meeting ‘policy coordination’
  • Liu may be looking to discern how much further US President Joe Biden will push high-tech export restrictions, said one analyst

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, seen in October, will meet her Chinese counterpart face-to-face for the first time this week. Photo: AP
Orange Wang

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet her Chinese counterpart, Vice-Premier Liu He, for the first time in Zurich, Switzerland this week to enhance their economic coordination, Washington and Beijing said on Monday.

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The separate announcements from the US Treasury Department and China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed that the two sides are maintaining engagement on a senior level, following up on commitments to do so made during a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Indonesia in November.

Yellen and Liu “will exchange views on macroeconomic developments and other economic issues as well as deepen communication between the United States and the People’s Republic of China”, a Treasury official said.

The Chinese ministry said that the meeting would “strengthen macroeconomic and financial policy coordination” between the two countries, adding that “China and US economic and trade teams have maintained good communication”.

Neither statement mentioned the tariffs that Washington and Beijing have had in place on each other’s imports since former US president Donald Trump started a bilateral trade war in 2018, nor whether they would be on the agenda for the meeting in Zurich.

The meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, seen in January 2020, is expected to deepen communication between the US and China. Photo: AP
The meeting with Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, seen in January 2020, is expected to deepen communication between the US and China. Photo: AP
The surprise announcements came amid enduring rifts between the world’s two largest economies on a wide range of issues, including increasing Biden administration restrictions on hi-tech exports to China.
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