U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated on Wednesday that she still hoped to visit China but did not provide any information regarding the itinerary or timetable.
To prepare for Yellen’s visit, a team of U.S. Treasury officials was supposed to go to China this month, but that was before there was a diplomatic row over a Chinese balloon that Washington believes was spying on the country. On Saturday, the balloon was shot down by the United States.
At its regularly scheduled news conference on Thursday, China’s commerce ministry expressed its appreciation for Yellen’s willingness to travel there.
Briefings on the Chinese balloon were held in Washington and Beijing with international ambassadors from 40 different countries. Last week, when it passed over the United States, it sparked political uproar in Washington and forced Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a trip to Beijing that both nations had thought would mend their strained ties. Initially, Blinken was supposed to arrive in Beijing this past Sunday.
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On Wednesday, Yellen told reporters that it was critical to enhance economic talks with Chinese colleagues.
“I’m still hoping to travel to China and meet with business partners there.” However, I am unable to provide you with a specific timeframe because I believe the Department of State and the Department of Defense should be in charge of that. Yellen noted that while travelling to Africa, she had met her Chinese counterpart in Zurich.
A week after it initially entered American airspace, a U.S. Air Force fighter jet shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday. According to China’s foreign ministry, it was a weather balloon that veered off course, and the US overreacted.
Yellen and Liu He, the vice premier of China, agreed to improve communication regarding macroeconomic and financial issues when they met in January in Zurich.
Additionally, Yellen told reporters that the robust job market was a major factor in the low recession probability.
“This is not an economy that is anywhere approaching recession when you have a 3.4% unemployment rate, which is the lowest since 1969, and you have over 500,000 jobs added in January.”
