The US Treasury Secretary began his visit to China with a morning meeting with business representatives from the world's second-largest economy, Europe and Japan.
GUANGZHOU, China — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday in a morning meeting to hear concerns from representatives of U.S., European and Japanese businesses in the world's second-largest economy, amid what is likely to be tough negotiations. The visit began. She discussed trade and other issues with Chinese government officials.
Yellen, the first Cabinet-level official to visit China since President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last November, arrived for a meeting in the southern industrial hub of Guangzhou. He shook hands with the heads of China's American and European chambers of commerce. .
She telegraphed that she would raise concerns during her five-day visit to China about what the United States sees as China's unfair trade practices, a concern shared by many European countries.
Eswar Prasad, a trade professor at Cornell University, said Yellen has urged the Chinese government to increase domestic consumption and ensure fair competition in new technology areas, particularly in green energy and electric vehicles. We expect that the United States will work to ensure appropriate market access for U.S. companies.
“Concerns that China is trying to export excess capacity and at the same time make major inroads into these areas will be a top concern for the U.S. delegation,” he said.
China is pushing back against concerns about overcapacity expressed by both the United States and Europe.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said earlier this week that the growth in China's EV and solar power exports is contributing to global green development and is the result of the international division of labor and market demand.
He accused the United States of obstructing free trade by restricting technology exports to China.
“The facts are out in the open as to who is doing the non-market manipulation,” he said. “The United States has not stopped its measures to contain Chinese trade and technology. This is not ‘reducing risk’ but rather creating risk.”