Yellen to visit China this week in mission to help stabilise ties

Janet Yellen, the United States’s Treasury secretary, will visit Beijing this week in the second trip by a top official in a matter of weeks as the world’s two biggest economies try to repair frayed ties.

Janet Yellen, the United States’s Treasury secretary, will visit Beijing this week in the second trip by a top official in a matter of weeks as the world’s two biggest economies try to repair frayed ties.

Yellen will travel to Beijing from July 6-9, the US Treasury Department said in a statement on Sunday. The visit was also confirmed in a statement by China’s Finance Ministry on Monday morning.

Yellen is expected to discuss the importance for both countries “to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges,” the Treasury Department statement said.

Yellen’s visit comes just weeks after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met China’s President Xi Jinping, leading diplomat Wang Yi and Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing in June.

Blinken was the highest-ranking US official to visit the Chinese capital in nearly five years and reached an agreement with Xi to stabilise ties and ensure rivalry did not veer into conflict.

China protested loudly when US President Joe Biden subsequently referred to Xi as a “dictator”, but analysts say the remark had little impact on efforts to improve ties.