Wednesday, November 27, 2024

US Treasury Team Prepares for Beijing Talks on Economic Cooperation

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A working group of U.S. Treasury and Chinese officials is scheduled to meet in Beijing for the first time this week, in another sign of closer engagement between the two countries following the November summit between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.

The two sides are scheduled to meet in the Chinese capital on Thursday, a Treasury official said. The group has met twice since it was established last September following Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s first visit to China.

The official said they will discuss a wide range of topics, from financial stability and cross-border data regulation to capital markets, sustainable finance and anti-money laundering. The two leaders will also discuss their views on countering terrorist financing and IMF policy, including discussions on counter-narcotics cooperation.

“This visit underscores the commitment of Secretary Yellen and the Biden administration to establishing strong communication channels between the United States and China,” a Treasury official said.

In the two months since Biden and Xi agreed to work to stabilize relations, the two countries have stepped up engagement in several areas. U.S. and Chinese military officials held their first talks since 2021 last week.

Liu Jianchao, the Communist Party’s international director and possible future foreign minister, met last week with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Vice President John Finer.

Although the two countries have eased tensions, they remain at odds on a number of issues, including China’s position on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sullivan said this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos. [Vladimir] President Putin is mobilizing Russia’s defense industrial base and putting the country’s economy on a war footing. ”

China is also unhappy with a series of US moves to restrict exports of sensitive technology, particularly in the areas of chips and artificial intelligence. However, Yellen has previously stressed to her Chinese counterpart that the United States would not hesitate to take national security measures if necessary.

The two powers also have deep differences over Taiwan, where voters last week elected Lai Ching-de, who China views as a dangerous separatist, as president. Speaking at Davos, Blinken also said that China bears some of the blame for what he sees as unfavorable outcomes on Taiwan due to its pressure on the island.

The Treasury team will be led by Assistant Secretary of International Finance Brent Neiman and Under Secretary of Domestic Finance Nellie Liang. Andrea Gacki, director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, will also be participating, and will first visit Hong Kong to discuss illicit finance and compliance with financial institutions.

The China team will be led by Xuan Changneng, deputy governor of the central bank.

Ma Wei, a researcher at the CASS Institute of America in Beijing, said China’s main objective was to revive communication with the Treasury Department after three years of halted talks due to coronavirus restrictions. said. He said the Chinese government is likely to focus on Section 301 tariffs, which the Trump administration has imposed on China but which Biden has not yet lifted, and Chinese negotiators are He said he expected the Treasury Department to relay its concerns to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

Ma said the Chinese side likely will not be able to provide further details about Biden’s new restrictions on U.S. foreign investment in Chinese tech companies, including what companies will be on the list and what the restrictions will be for American investors. He said he would ask. The Treasury Department is finalizing regulations following Biden’s executive order last year.



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