When Janet Yellen left Beijing on Sunday after four days of talks, the US treasury secretary in effect admitted that the delegation achieved its main objective simply by sitting down with top Chinese officials. After years of dangerous and deepening separation between the people running the world’s two biggest economies, they were finally back in a room together. At a brief press conference that was the only tangible outcome of the talks, Yellen listed her hopes for the future. They included something that a decade ago would have been taken…
Tag: International trade
Janet Yellen tells China the world is ‘big enough for both our countries to thrive’
The US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, has said a four-day trip to Beijing has put ties with China on a “surer footing” and paved the way for better communication between top officials who run the world’s two largest economies. This relatively modest outcome had been flagged by US officials and expected by analysts before Yellen arrived, and is a reflection of how fraught one of the world’s most critical relationships had become. “I expect that this trip will help build a resilient and productive channel of communication,” Yellen said at…
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen to visit China to build ‘healthy’ ties with Beijing
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen will visit Beijing this week, marking the second trip by a cabinet official to China since ties between the world’s top two economies deteriorated earlier this year. Yellen is expected to discuss with her counterparts the importance for both countries “to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges”, said the Treasury Department in a statement on Sunday. Yellen’s planned trip from 6-9 July comes just weeks after secretary of state Antony Blinken met President Xi…
Coalition says Anthony Albanese should not go to China until trade sanctions are lifted
The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, says Anthony Albanese should not visit Beijing until all trade sanctions have been lifted. Birmingham, a former trade minister in the Coalition government, said Australia “deserves to have absolute clarity that these sanctions are going to be lifted and that clarity should be there before the prime minister entertains a formal state visit to Beijing”. “Why? Because China is acting very clearly in breach of its commitments to Australia,” Birmingham told the ABC’s Insiders. “China is acting in breach of its commitments…
Sunak to urge G7 support for collective action against ‘economic coercion’
The UK and other G7 countries are planning collective action against Russia and China if they threaten trade boycotts for political reasons, announcing a new body to deal with “economic coercion”. Rishi Sunak will urge “bold and pragmatic collective action” against hostile states that stop trading with other countries when they disagree with their geopolitical decisions. He will cite Russia’s stranglehold on European gas supplies last year as a situation that could have been met with a collective response. Other examples include China’s punitive tariffs on Australian wine after Canberra…
The US-China relationship is still moving slowly towards a collision
I recently attended the China Development Forum (CDF) in Beijing, an annual gathering of senior foreign business leaders, academics, former policymakers, and top Chinese officials. This year’s conference was the first to be held in person since 2019, and it offered western observers the opportunity to meet China’s new senior leadership, including new premier Li Qiang. The event also offered Li his first opportunity to engage with foreign representatives since taking office. While much has been said about the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, appointing close loyalists to crucial positions within…
China ‘barring thousands of citizens and foreigners from leaving country’
China is increasingly barring people, including foreign executives, from leaving the country, according to a report and research. Scores of Chinese nationals and foreigners have been ensnared by exit bans, according to the report from the rights group Safeguard Defenders, while a Reuters analysis has found an apparent surge in court cases involving such bans in recent years. Foreign business lobby groups are voicing concern about the trend, calling it a jarring message as the authorities say the country is open for business after three years of tight Covid-19 restrictions.…
A Taiwan invasion would destroy world trade, says Cleverly in speech on China – video
In a speech on Britain’s relationship with China, UK foreign secretary James Cleverly warns a war across theTaiwan strait would have global repercussions, urging against unilateral action altering the status quo. And while acknowledging China represents an authoritarian tradition at odds with Britain’s, he said he wanted Britain to engage directly with China, bilaterally and multilaterally, in a reflection of its ‘global importance’. ‘We have an obligation to future generations to engage because otherwise we would be failing in our duty to sustain – and shape – the international order.…
If China invaded Taiwan it would destroy world trade, says James Cleverly
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan would destroy world trade, and distance would offer no protection to the inevitable catastrophic blow to the global economy, the UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, warned in a set piece speech on Britain’s relations with Beijing. In remarks that differ from French president Emmanuel Macron’s attempts to distance Europe from any potential US involvement in a future conflict over Taiwan, and which firmly support continued if guarded engagement with Beijing, Cleverly said “no country could shield itself from the repercussions of a war in Taiwan”.…
Global economic forecast for 2023? A stormy start followed by a ray of hope
Investors should brace for another turbulent year in the financial markets, economists have warned as central banks fight inflation, China reopens its economy after Covid-19 restrictions and the Ukraine war pushes the global economy towards recession. The first half of the new year is likely to be choppy, according to Wall Street predictions, after global markets suffered their biggest fall since the 2008 financial crisis last year. But the US S&P 500 is still expected to end 2023 a little higher than it began the year. The average target of…