Opinion | Yellen's well-timed visit comes with pragmatic expectations
By Augustus K. Yeung
INTRODUCTION
A quote from editorial, China Daily," It will take concrete moves from US to move ties forward on surer footing."
This time the Americans mean business. How do we know?
The US treasury chief came with a delightful delegation and John Kerry, Biden's trusted climate envoy, is also scheduled to visit Beijing, whose trip is preceded by the president's visit to UK – to "discuss clean energy with King Charles 111".
Given all these highly unusual and well-coordinated moves, the scenario looks more real than Washington's fairy tales, which have had taken Beijing for a long ride.
This time it's different.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to China brings hope; her trip spells out 3 alphabets: A – for able, W – for war/willing, R –for ready.
Will that be (trade) war, or "Able, Willing and Ready" to meet China's expectations, and "to move ties forward on surer footing"?!
To assess whether Washington is ready, we turn to Biden's impending activity – that of visiting King Charles of UK, to resolve the problem of climate change – an issue larger than life that concerns China and all mankind, especially the Western Pacific islands' low-lying areas that are now in fear of being submerged. It'll please friends and foes.
Why do the Chinese attach so much importance to Yellen's visit? They are disappointed with Washington's performance. Now is the chance for the Biden administration, or China will never trust this team again – until after the 2024 election.
Read the following abridged editorial, China Daily. The reader will share my intuition that this time President Joe Biden means business, and that is why he is sending Janet Yellen, Washington's best economists and highest level of trade envoy, whose language often "couples" with "the President and I, meaning the royal we", rather than "decoupling".
Janet Yellen's visit comes with pragmatic expectations
"US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to China from Thursday to Sunday comes at a critical time for bilateral ties, and therefore, technically it is a test of whether she can take the decade-long good working relations she has built with her 'old friends' in China forward and allay, if not altogether eliminate, the increasing distrust between the world's two largest economies." Wrote China Daily.
"Yellen faces a tough challenge; she has to convince Beijing that the slew of 'de-risking' measures Washington, and some of its allies, have been taking are not intended to contain China or decouple the two economies. Her job is very difficult – because it is the United States that has been making all the wrong moves targeting China."
Yellen's is perhaps the only voice of reason amid the belligerent anti-China din in Washington. She has termed the tariffs that the US has imposed on China as "taxes on consumers" and warned "decoupling" could be "disastrous", a term just emphasized by the CIA director, who emphatically said that decoupling would be "foolish".
An official in her delegation told the media: "We don't expect specific policy breakthroughs in these meetings, but we do hope to have and expect to have frank and productive conversations that will help lay the groundwork for future communication, including at the sub-Cabinet level."
Note: Yellen had a "frank and productive discussion" on mutual concerns with Xie Feng, China's ambassador to the US shortly before leaving for Beijing – so she could come prepared to get straight to the point during her meetings with her Chinese hosts, meaning she is sincere!
"Not surprisingly, both sides deem Yellen's visit as a high-stake one and both hope her meetings with her Chinese hosts will yield ways to address the problems of mutual concern and thus ease the tensions between the two sides."
Yellen can take advantage of her "pragmatic style" as an economist to help ease, or better still end, the tariff war and thus ensure the healthy growth of bilateral trade which, despite the US' tariff war since 2018, has been growing.
Hopefully, Yellen, the "economist" and "pragmatist", will at least be able to help prevent the tariff war from intensifying and overall bilateral relations from further deteriorating.
It is encouraging that during their meeting on Friday, Yellen told Premier Li Qiang that the US does not seek "decoupling" and is willing to work with China to strengthen cooperation in stabilizing the macro-economy, and addressing global challenges, to seek mutual benefits and win-win results.
China and the US need to and have the capability to increase economic exchanges and cooperation. Yellen's visit should help stabilize market expectations and create conditions for the enterprises of the two countries to conduct normal economic, trade and investment activities. (Source: Editorial, China Daily)
CONCLUSION
It is my foregone conclusion (as well as that of China's state media's expectation) that this time Yellen's passage to China is for real, not to push Beijing around as before.
Yellen carries the president's hope and is now in Beijing – personally spelling out his future legacy – Biden's one last hope of being fondly remembered for doing good, before he goes to the polls in 2024. Indeed, the timing is "critical".
Yellen's delegation said that their visit carries the mission not for doing too much – but to lay the "groundwork" for "future communication" at the high Cabinet-level, implying a state visit by the U.S. president soon. That's one reason for being hopeful.
Another reason is that this goodwill message is now being delivered by someone who is best known for being an "economist" and a "pragmatist", none other than the US Treasure Treasure– who has built up an army of "old friends" in Beijing "over the decade".
Janet Yellen is Biden's trump card for taming the "looming trade war", healing the China-US bilateral relations, and subsequently winning China's trust.
Significantly, Yellen's footsteps will be closely followed by John Kerry – who was once a presidential candidate who was narrowly beaten by President George Bush, Jr.
John Kerry is just as important as Janet Yellen to China.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Augustus K. Yeung:
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