The US Treasury hinted that plans are under way for Secretary Janet Yellen and her counterparts in China to hold meetings later this year in Beijing and Washington, continuing the two governments’ efforts to ramp up face-to-face engagement between senior officials.
(Bloomberg) — The US Treasury hinted that plans are under way for Secretary Janet Yellen and her counterparts in China to hold meetings later this year in Beijing and Washington, continuing the two governments’ efforts to ramp up face-to-face engagement between senior officials.
Yellen “looks forward to traveling to China and to welcoming her counterparts to the United States in the near future,” the Treasury said in a statement following her meeting in Zurich Wednesday with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.
No further details were given on the possible timing of additional meetings. A Treasury official declined to comment on whether any invitations were issued during the session.
A gathering in Beijing for the pair would mark Yellen’s first trip to China as Treasury chief and would likely follow Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the Chinese capital, planned for early this year.
The announcement marks another step forward for US-China dialogue that was jump-started in November when Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping held their first face-to-face discussion in Bali, Indonesia.
Yellen and Liu made clear in remarks that preceded their closed-door meeting that they intended to address directly several areas of disagreement. But they both acknowledged the importance that regular communication could have in avoiding conflict and working to solve problems of mutual interest.
Following the meeting, the Treasury said the pair “exchanged views on macroeconomic and financial developments.”
“They also agreed about the importance of sustainable development and that they would enhance cooperation on climate finance on a bilateral and multilateral basis,” it said.
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