Speaking Friday in Beijing to the American Chamber of Commerce in China, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, “The United States does not seek a wholesale separation of our economies. … The decoupling of the world’s two largest economies would be destabilizing for the global economy, and it would be virtually impossible to undertake.”
Yellen is expected to meet later Friday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other Chinese officials in Beijing, where she is set to address the strained relationship between the two countries.
She arrived in Beijing on Thursday.
“I am glad to be in Beijing to meet with Chinese officials and business leaders,” Yellen said on Twitter. “We seek a healthy economic competition that benefits American workers and firms and to collaborate on global challenges.”
“We will take action to protect our national security when needed,” she added, “and this trip presents an opportunity to communicate and avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding.”
Yellen said U.S. President Joe Biden “charged his administration with deepening communication between our two countries on a range of issues, and I look forward to doing so during my visit.”
Treasury Department officials said ahead of the trip that Yellen would be discussing stabilizing the global economy, as well as challenging China’s support of Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yellen was not expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Her visit, which is scheduled to last through Sunday, follows U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to Beijing last month.
Yellen met earlier this week with China’s ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, where the Treasury Department said Yellen “raised issues of concern while also conveying the importance of the two largest economies working together on global challenges, including on macroeconomic and financial issues.”
Chinese state media said Xie expressed hope that the two countries will eliminate interference and strengthen dialogue.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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