Letters | Yellen vs Blinken: US policy on China lacks coherence

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On a hot Sunday afternoon, it was soothing to read in the report on your front page that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during her official visit to China, stressed the need for China and the United States to work together to fight climate change and address other critical issues (“Yellen stresses need for direct interaction”, July 9). Given the current poor relations between the two superpowers, this is a most welcome development.

Until, that is, one arrives at page A7 which reports on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelling to Jakarta to encourage foreign ministers from Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states to “push back” against China (“US pressing for Asean ‘push back’ against Beijing”, July 9). A US official was quoted as saying, “It’s not a matter of getting countries on board with the US view.” Oh, yes?

The US imposition of sanctions on exports to China of advanced chips and the equipment used to make them, and the targeting of Chinese telecoms firms, does not sit well with Yellen’s statements, and therefore it is not surprising that China, as reported on page A3, is planning on August 1 to restrict exports of gallium and germanium (“EU fears impact of China’s mineral export curbs”, July 9). China is the world’s largest producer of these two metals of strategic importance. For the West, this presents a significant problem that will further complicate relationships.

Discerning coherence in US policy is challenging and it is doubtful that the impending US presidential election will do anything other than make matters worse, with candidates likely to outdo each other in being “tough” on China.