09 November 2023

Economic Issues B4 Statecraft

U.S.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are headed toSan Francisco to try and make progress on a slew of economic issues.

Talks between the two counterparts are designed to help lay the groundwork for an expected meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, which would be their first face-to-face encounter in nearly a year.

In September, the U.S. Treasury Department and China’s Ministry of Finance launched a pair of economic working groups in an effort to ease tensions and deepen ties between the nations.

According to an Associated Press report, The White House is not expecting the face-to-face meeting to result in major changes to the relationship between the two nations, according to a person familiar with the planning, although it hopes to see some signs of progress.

The US and Chinese finance ministers are opening talks to lay the groundwork for a Biden-Xi meeting

By FATIMA HUSSEIN

Updated 9:11 PM PST, November 8, 2023

Analysts say expectations should be kept low, given the competitive nature of the countries’ relationship. . .

Nicholas Szechenyi, deputy director for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said at a preview event for the APEC summit that “it seems difficult for the United States to credibly emphasize themes such as inclusiveness, interconnectedness — the themes of this year’s APEC summit — when the primary driver for U.S. economic strategy in the Indo-Pacific is not economic cooperation, necessarily, but rather economic competition.”

“U.S. strategy is very much focused on economic competition with China,” he said.

In August, Biden signed an executive order designed to regulate and block high-tech U.S.-based investments going toward China, a move the administration said is based on protecting national security. And last year, the U.S. moved to block exports of advanced computer chips to China.

Earlier this year, U.S. lawmakers held hearings over data security and harmful content with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, contemplating whether to ban the hugely popular app due to its Chinese connections. . .