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Janet Yellen To Visit China This Week

Yellen’s visit comes after President Biden compared Xi to ‘dictators’ at a political fundraiser last month.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, Tuesday, June 13, 2023. | AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoade

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit China this week as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to deepen communication between the two countries.

The Story: Yellen’s trip was first announced back in January but was pushed back after a Chinese Spy Balloon was seen flying over the U.S. back in February.

  • President Joe Biden ordered the military to shoot down the balloon and initially wanted to speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping but was talked out of it by his aides.
  • Yellen will be the second Cabinet-level member to travel to China after Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Beijing to meet with his counterpart as well as Xi.

What’s new: Yellen will be in Beijing July 6-9 and will meet with senior officials in China with talks expected to be “constructive” and “frank”, according to a senior Treasury official.

  • Yellen is not expected to meet with Xi, the senior Treasury official said.
  • She is expected to discuss “areas of concern”, including allegations of human rights abuses, the official said.

Why it matters: Yellen’s visit comes after Biden compared Xi to “dictators” at a political fundraiser last month — comments that he said would not damage the progress made between the United States and China.

  • “That’s a great embarrassment for dictators. When they didn’t know what happened. That wasn’t supposed to be going where it was. It was blown off course,” Biden said at a fundraiser on June 20.
  • When questioned by reporters at the White House a few days later, the president stood by his comments just days before. “The answer to your question is no. I don’t think it’s had any real consequence,” he said.

The point: While Yellen’s visit will be yet another high-level engagement between the two countries, no “significant breakthroughs” are expected.

  • The Biden administration is hoping to use the trip to ease tensions and improve the lines of communication.
Stephen Anderson
Written By

Stephen Michael is a Political Correspondent based in the United States. He has reached a global audience with his coverage of the 2020 Election and Trump White House. Michael joins Forward Axis News after spending time with the Project Spurs Network since 2014 and covering reality TV in the UK, Australia, and Canada.

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