Janet Yellen Engages China's Business Leaders Before Trade Negotiations

06 Apr, 2024

Janet Yellen Engages China's Business Leaders Before Trade Negotiations

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen embarked on a four-day dialogue with senior Chinese officials, focusing on ramifications of China's excess manufacturing capacity and the challenging environment for US businesses. Yellen's meetings with Guangdong Province Governor Wang Weizhong and Vice Premier He Lifeng signify ongoing economic relations between the US and China. However, these discussions are anticipated to be contentious given the complex subject matter.

Yellen aims to address China's overproduction of electric vehicles, solar panels, and semiconductors, stressing its adverse effects on global markets and advocating for a balanced playing field for US workers and firms. She emphasizes the importance of open communication on areas of disagreement. Highlighting concerns about global spillovers from China's industrial capacity, Yellen refrains from threatening new trade barriers but hints at potential actions to safeguard American industries from cheap Chinese imports.

While the Treasury doesn't anticipate significant shifts in Chinese policies, it underscores the necessity of elucidating the global repercussions of overinvestment in certain sectors. Chinese state media counter US concerns about manufacturing capacity, framing them as biased accusations. The China Daily asserts that surplus products seeking global markets is a natural economic phenomenon, challenging the narrative of an "overcapacity problem" solely attributed to China.