China wants US to take action over trade concerns

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Beijing urged Washington on Monday to take actions over bilateral trade issues during US Treasury Chief Janet Yellen's visit to China.

China’s Finance Ministry said that Yellen was urged that the US side "take actions to respond to China's stern concerns over US' economic sanctions and crackdown."

Despite having "significant" disagreements, US and China can work together on global challenges – from tackling the climate crisis to addressing sovereign debt sustainability and wider economic cooperation, Yellen said at a press conference in Beijing at the conclusion of her maiden four-day visit to China.

Yellen, an economist by training, and a former head of the US Federal Reserve, Sunday concluded her four-day trip to China.

She is the second Cabinet-level member of the Joe Biden administration to visit Beijing in a month.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a two-day visit to Beijing in June – the first by a US secretary of state since 2018.

The Chinese side "expounded the mutually-beneficial nature of China-US economic ties, asked, explained China's position on conducting healthy economic competition, and demonstrated China's willingness to cooperate and address global challenges," Beijing-based Global Times reported, citing a ministry statement.

Before her flight back home, Yellen told reporters in Beijing that despite having "significant" disagreements, the US and China can work together on global challenges – from tackling the climate crisis to addressing sovereign debt sustainability and wider economic cooperation.

"This is not a bilateral issue between China and the United States. It is about responsible global leadership. The world deserves and expects its two largest economies to work together on these global problems and help find solutions," Yellen said at a news conference in Beijing at the conclusion of her maiden visit to China.

The Chinese finance ministry said the two sides agreed "to implement the important understandings" reached by the two heads of states in Indonesia last November.

President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden had met in Bali on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in the Southeast Asian nation.

The two sides agreed "to maintain high-level official exchanges in the economic sector and other levels of communication channels," said the Chinese Ministry.