US Treasury secretary to visit Beijing amid heightened tensions

Washington [US], July 4: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Beijing on Thursday, the US Treasury Department announced on Sunday.
Yellen's visit follows US President Joe Biden's directive after his meeting with President Xi Jinping in November to deepen communication between the US and the China, her office said in a statement.
The trip to China will be Yellen's first as Treasury secretary and follows Secretary of State Antony J Blinken's visit last month. It comes at a moment of tension between the United States and Beijing following the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon traversing America earlier this year and Chinese frustration with the Biden administration's efforts to block China from accessing certain sensitive technologies.
Yellen's visit also coincides with a moment of heightened uncertainty for the global economy, with China's post-pandemic output flagging and the United States trying to avoid a recession while containing inflation.
While both sides have talked about re-establishing dialogue, deep divisions persist and the meetings are likely to cover sensitive issues that have been festering for years.
Yellen will meet with high-ranking representatives of the Chinese government during her stay.
She would discuss "the importance for our countries - as the world's two largest economies - to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges," the statement said.
Relations between the United States and China have been increasingly tense in recent months. Biden's administration sees China as the biggest geopolitical challenge and is taking a tough line with Beijing.
China's support for Russia's war in Ukraine, threats from Beijing concerning Taiwan and the ongoing trade war between the two countries are causing ongoing disputes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Beijing in June.
Blinken's visit - his first visit to China since taking office in 2021 - was originally planned for February, but was postponed when a diplomatic crisis erupted with the discovery of what Washington said was a Chinese surveillance balloon over US territory.
The Biden administration has been taking steps to reduce America's reliance on Chinese imports and has sought to limit China's access to semiconductors, biotechnology and sensitive technology that powers things like robotics, artificial intelligence capabilities and high-end computing.
At the same time, China has frustrated the United States with its reluctance to renegotiate the terms of loans it is owed by poor countries facing default and has maintained close economic ties with Russia despite that country's invasion of Ukraine.
The Treasury secretary is expected to raise objections to China's recent ban aimed at Micron Technology, the US-based manufacturer of memory chips used in phones, computers and other electronics.
Source: Qatar Tribune