US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to visit Beijing
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to visit Beijing this week, the United States has said, and is expected to discuss the importance for both countries "to responsibly manage” their relationship. Yellen will also discuss with her counterparts the need to "communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges," said the Treasury Department in a statement. Yellen's planned July 6-9 trip comes just weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met President Xi Jinping and Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing in June. Blinken was the highest-ranking US official to visit the capital in nearly five years, and Xi said on the rare trip that he saw headway in the strained relationship between Beijing and Washington. In the capital, Yellen will discuss how the US views its economic relationship with China, a senior Treasury official said on Sunday. She will meet senior Chinese officials and leading US firms, the American spokesperson said without providing specifics. While the US seeks to secure its national security interests and protect human rights, actions to this effect are "not intended to gain economic advantage over China," the official added. Washington also looks towards "healthy" ties with Beijing and does not seek to decouple the economies, while pursuing cooperation on urgent challenges like climate change and debt distress, the American official said. The United States does not expect "significant breakthrough" from this initial trip, but it does aim to build longer-term channels of communication with China, the Treasury official added. (AFP)