Yellen calls for “constructive and fair” economic relations between the US and China via Reuters

Written by Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a speech on Thursday that the United States seeks “constructive and fair” economic relations with China, but will protect its national security interests and counter China’s actions to dominate foreign competitors.

In excerpts released by the Treasury Department, Yellen outlined the Biden administration’s main goals for the economic relationship between the world’s two largest economies amid persistent tensions that have frustrated high-level meetings.

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

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

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

But Washington will clearly communicate its concerns about China’s increasing support for state-owned enterprises and domestic private companies to control foreign competitors, as well as its “aggressive” efforts to acquire new knowledge, including through theft of intellectual property and “means.”

“We will not hesitate to defend our vital interests,” she said, stressing that Washington’s actions against China were motivated solely by concerns about security and American values ​​and were not intended to gain a competitive economic advantage.

And she stressed that Washington will not abandon these concerns, even as it imposes negotiations with American economic interests.

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

“Sports teams perform at a high level when they are constantly facing the biggest competitors. Companies produce better and cheaper products when they are competing for consumers,” she said.

It also urged China to keep its promise to work with the United States on macroeconomic issues and pressing global challenges such as climate change and the debt crisis.

“More needs to be done,” she said. “We ask China to make good on its promise to work with us on these issues – not as a favor to us, but as a duty and a shared obligation to the world.”