Washington, July 2 (EFE).- United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to China this week in an attempt to reduce tensions between the two countries, the treasury department announced Sunday.
“Yellen will travel to Beijing, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from July 6-9 for meetings with senior PRC officials,” the department said in a statement.
“While in Beijing, Secretary Yellen will discuss with PRC officials 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 department added.
Yellen’s trip to China, her first as treasury secretary, is part of President Joe Biden’s efforts to improve communication and prevent competition between the two countries from leading to an open conflict.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also traveled last month to China, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping, among others.
Tensions between China and the US escalated during former US President Donald Trump’s term (2017-2021), when both nations got involved in a trade war with the mutual imposition of tariffs.
However, there was a thawing when Biden and Xi met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali in November last year.
Relations soured again after the Biden administration shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon that flew over the US in late January and fell into Atlantic waters on Feb. 4.
That incident led Blinken to cancel an upcoming trip to China but, in recent weeks, the Biden government has expressed its desire to improve relations soon.
On June 22, Biden said that he hoped to meet Xi in the near future, although no date has been released for now. EFE
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