Tag: International Trade and World Market

Janet Yellen’s Trip to China: No Breakthroughs But 10 Hours of Talks

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Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen came to China amid hopes that the United States could restart a relationship that has been deteriorating for years and had gotten off the rails recently over significant points of tension — including the war in Ukraine, a Chinese spy balloon that flew over U.S. territory and was shot down by the American military, and the two countries’ escalating exchange of restrictions on trade. After 10 hours of meetings over two days in Beijing, Ms. Yellen said at a news conference on Sunday that she…

Chips Make It Tough for the U.S. to Quit China

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In May, Micron Technologies, the Idaho chipmaker, suffered a serious blow as part of the U.S.-China technology war. The Chinese government barred companies that handle crucial information from buying Micron’s chips, saying the company had failed a cybersecurity review. Micron said the change could destroy roughly an eighth of its global revenue. Yet in June, the chipmaker announced that it would increase its investments in China — adding $600 million to expand a chip packaging facility in the Chinese city of Xian. “This investment project demonstrates Micron’s unwavering commitment to…

Janet Yellen Criticizes China’s Treatment of U.S. Companies

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Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Friday criticized the Chinese government’s harsh treatment of companies with foreign ties and its recent decision to impose export controls on certain critical minerals, suggesting that such actions justify the Biden administration’s efforts to make U.S. manufacturers less reliant on China. Ms. Yellen delivered the forceful defense of American industry on her first day of meetings in Beijing during a high-stakes trip to ease tension between the United States and China. Her comments, to a group of executives from American businesses operating in China,…

Yellen Faces a Diplomatic Test in Her High-Stakes Visit to China

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At her confirmation hearing in early 2021, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen struck a tough tone on China, describing it as America’s most important strategic competitor and pledging to confront its “abusive, unfair and illegal practices” that she said were harming businesses and workers in the United States. Since then, Ms. Yellen has emerged as a voice of moderation in the Biden administration, embracing the mantle of economic pragmatism as the world economy copes with inflation and sluggish growth. The Treasury secretary has expressed objections to China’s record on human…

Yellen’s China Visit Aims to Ease Tensions Amid Deep Divisions

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The last time a U.S. Treasury secretary visited China, Washington and Beijing were locked in a trade war, the Trump administration was preparing to label China a currency manipulator, and fraying relations between the two countries were roiling global markets. Four years later, as Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen prepares to arrive in Beijing, many of the economic policy concerns that have been festering between the United States and China remain — or have even intensified — despite the Biden administration’s less antagonistic tone. The tariffs that President Donald J.…

Biden Administration Weighs Further Curbs on Sales of A.I. Chips to China

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The Biden administration is weighing additional curbs on China’s ability to access critical technology, including restricting the sale of high-end chips used to power artificial intelligence, according to five people familiar with the deliberations. The curbs would clamp down on the sales to China of advanced chips made by companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices and Intel, which are needed for the data centers that power artificial intelligence. Biden officials have said that China’s artificial intelligence capabilities could pose a national security threat to the United States by enhancing…

White House Reportedly Weighs New A.I. Export Limits

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Will the U.S. tighten a cordon around A.I. chips? Shares in high-flying chipmakers like Nvidia and AMD were down in premarket trading today, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration is weighing new restrictions on exporting artificial intelligence-related semiconductors to China. The deliberations underscore the White House’s worries about falling behind in the race to dominate A.I. and the potential for Beijing to use the technology in military applications — and they show that it is willing to tighten the screws on trade to stay ahead. Any…

Can China Export Its Way Out of Its Economic Slump?

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China dominates the global sale of solar panels and has caught up with Japan as the world’s largest car exporter. ‌It is even gaining in ‌the worldwide ‌sale of low-tech products like shoes. Now Beijing is weighing whether to deploy its considerable power as an exporter to try to stabilize an economy laboring under distinctly homegrown problems — a real estate crisis and weak spending by consumers still cautious after nearly three years of stringent pandemic restrictions. The decision could reverberate throughout the global economy and provoke a backlash among…

The U.S.-China Rivalry Is Complicating the World’s Debt Crisis

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Inside his capacious office, his tan curtains drawn against the tropical sun, the president of Suriname expressed sympathy with the striking teachers who were massing outside, taunting him while demanding higher wages. Three years of unmitigated catastrophe has destroyed spending power in this South American country — the result of global crises landing atop decades of profligate governance. Food and fuel prices have soared, worsened by Russia’s war on Ukraine. The national currency plunged, and the economy cratered just as the pandemic spread death and fear. “The heavy burden on…

Congress Spotlights Forced Labor Concerns With Chinese Shopping Sites Shein and Temu

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Lawmakers are flagging what they say are likely significant violations of U.S. law by Temu, a popular Chinese shopping platform, accusing it of providing an unchecked channel that allows goods made with forced labor to flow into the United States. In a report released Thursday, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said Temu, a rapidly growing site that sells electronics, makeup, toys and clothing, had failed “to maintain even the facade of a meaningful compliance program” for its supply chains and was likely shipping products made with…