Yellen calls for US economic cooperation with China – 04/20/2023 – Market

The United States seeks “constructive and fair” economic ties with China, but will protect its national security interests and counteract China’s actions to dominate foreign competitors, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a speech on Thursday. -Friday (20).

In excerpts released by Treasury, Yellen laid out the Biden administration’s main goals for the economic relationship between the world’s two largest economies amid ongoing tensions that have thwarted high-level meetings.

Yellen, who said she still hopes to visit Beijing to meet with her economic counterparts, said the United States remains the world’s largest and most dynamic economy, leading in areas ranging from wealth to technological innovation.

“More than resources or geography, our country’s success can be attributed to our people, values ​​and institutions. American democracy, while not perfect, protects the free exchange of ideas and the rule of law that is the foundation of growth sustainable,” she said in remarks prepared for the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Yellen said the Biden administration’s economic priorities in China include securing US national security interests, promoting “healthy” competition and cooperating where possible on global issues such as climate change, debt relief and macroeconomic stability.

Washington, however, will clearly communicate its concerns about China’s increased support for state-owned enterprises and domestic private companies to dominate foreign competitors, as well as its “aggressive” efforts to acquire new know-how, including through the theft of intellectual property and “other illicit means”.

“We will not hesitate to defend our vital interests,” she said, stressing that Washington’s actions against China were motivated only by concerns for US security and values ​​and were not aimed at gaining a competitive economic advantage.

She asserted that Washington will not let go of these concerns, even as they force negotiations with US economic interests.

At the same time, she said the Biden administration is not looking for a “winner-take-all” competition and believes that healthy economic competition with a fair set of rules could benefit both countries over time.

“Sports teams perform at a high level when they are consistently up against top rivals. Companies produce better and cheaper products when they compete for consumers,” she said.

She also urged China to fulfill its pledge to work with the United States on macroeconomic issues and pressing global challenges such as climate change and debt distress.

“More needs to be done,” she said. “We ask China to fulfill its promise to work with us on these issues. Not as a favor to us, but as our joint duty and obligation to the world.”

According to Yellen, China, as the world’s largest official bilateral creditor, should participate in significant debt relief for countries facing problems, but the country has long served as an “obstacle” to the necessary action.

The secretary welcomed China’s recent provision of credible financing guarantees for Sri Lanka, but said Washington continues to call for China’s “full participation” in debt handling for Zambia, Ghana and other countries.

Yellen’s comments came after global financial officials from creditor and debtor countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the private sector met in Washington last week to discuss ways to accelerate the country’s restructuring efforts. debt long paralyzed. The IMF estimates that more than half of low-income countries are close to or no longer able to pay their debts.

China has long been unwilling to accept loan losses unless private sector lenders and multilateral development banks shoulder their share of the burden.

“China’s status as the world’s largest official bilateral creditor imposes on it the same inescapable set of responsibilities as other official bilateral creditors when the debt cannot be fully repaid,” the Treasury secretary said.