(Bloomberg) — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and China’s Vice Premier Liu He privately discussed points of disagreement during a break from official proceedings in their first face-to-face meeting, according to a senior Treasury official, a sign that the world’s top economies are seeking to downplay tensions and spotlight a constructive tone in their discussions.
(Bloomberg) — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and China’s Vice Premier Liu He privately discussed points of disagreement during a break from official proceedings in their first face-to-face meeting, according to a senior Treasury official, a sign that the world’s top economies are seeking to downplay tensions and spotlight a constructive tone in their discussions.
Wednesday’s meeting, which was only announced two days earlier, was billed by both sides as a step toward improving dialogue — and an opportunity to exchange frank views over areas of disagreement.
The official briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity following the Yellen-Liu talks in Zurich. An earlier Treasury statement called the discussions “candid, substantive and constructive,” and announced plans for Yellen to visit Beijing later this year.
Read more: Yellen to Visit Beijing in Further Sign of US-China Thaw
During a scheduled coffee break — according to the US official — the two economy chiefs retreated to one end of the room, accompanied only by translators who were largely unneeded due to Liu’s command of English. After some time, staff members asked the two if the formal session should restart. They were rebuffed, because the private conversation was going so well.
Later, when talks between the delegations reached the stage at which bones of contention were due to be aired, Yellen and Liu told the group that there was no need to do so — because they’d already addressed all the key issues. The Treasury official was unable to relate details about what had been said during the informal portion.
Among the contentious issues that had been expected to come up during the meeting were China’s objections to US export and investment controls. The US has angered Beijing in recent months by seeking to deny China access to advanced semiconductors, a technology China sees as crucial to its economic development.
Other key subjects addressed in the talks were US efforts to cool inflation without triggering a recession, and China’s real-estate crunch, according to the US official. The pair also discussed the growing problem of heavily indebted low- and middle-income countries. Yellen specifically brought up Zambia, which she’s scheduled to visit later this month, according to the US official.
Zambia is seen as an important test case for the so-called Common Framework, a program organized by rich nations to help debtors negotiate with their sovereign and private creditors at the same time. The African country defaulted in 2020 and is seeking to restructure about $12.8 billion in external debt. About one-third of that is owed to China, which has been criticized for holding up the process.
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