On Friday, Chinese Premier Li Qiang told US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen that Beijing “can see a rainbow” after a period of fraught ties, as the two sat down for talks aimed at stabilising their countries’ relationship.
Yellen told Li is the United States is not seeking any “winner takes all” competition with China.
During her four-day trip to China as a Treasury Chief, the US is butting heads over trade curbs, human rights and a litany of other disputes.
But Washington is working on cooling down things with China, as on Friday Yellen underscored to Li that the United States does not seek an economic showdown.
The United States has said that it is seeking to “de-risk” from China by limiting the world’s second largest economy’s access to advanced technology deemed crucial to Washington’s national security.
Yellen informed Premier Li that while Washington would “in certain circumstances, need to pursue targeted actions to protect its national security,” and that should not derail their ties.
Highlighting the challenges, just days before Yellen’s visit, Beijing unveiled new controls over export on metals keys to semiconductor manufacturing on national security grounds. The Treasury chief stressed that Washington is not seeking to separate the two of the world’s largest economies, as that could have some adverse consequences globally.