The U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen and China’s Vice Premier Liu He held a video call on Tuesday morning. During the talks, two sides talked about the macroeconomic situation and bilateral and multilateral cooperation, China’s Commerce Ministry statement stated.
The U.S. secretary of treasury later said in a short separate statement that she “frankly raised issues of concern” with Liu. However, the statement did not elaborate on the concerns and added that Yellen looked forward to future discussions with Liu.
Since former U.S. President Donald Trump embarked on a trade war with China, Vice Premier Liu He has been leading Beijing’s negotiation team in U.S.-China trade talks.
This was the second video conference between the representatives of China and the U.S. in October. Liu previously held a video conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on October 9, 2021.
China’s Commerce Ministry statement read “The two sides agreed that as the world economic recovery is at a critical juncture, it is important for China and the United States to strengthen macro policy communication and coordination”.
It added that the Chinese official also expressed concerns about U.S. tariffs and the fair treatment of Chinese companies in order to ease tensions between two major powers. The U.S. and Chinese official statements did not mention the American officials’ response on the matter.
China described the talks as “pragmatic, candid and constructive” and highlighted that the “developments in our two economies have important implications for the global economy.”
Analysts noted that despite differences on many issues, the call between the U.S. and Chinese officials suggests a positive sentiment for future discussions and offers both sides an opportunity to seek common grounds.
Although the tone of China’s Commerce Ministry statement was more positive than in June, the two sides failed to make substantial progress on economic or trade issues.
The U.S.-China trade talks come amid the U.S. administration’s increasing pressures on China to improve the “human rights” situation and cease its “coercive” actions towards its neighbors.
