Opinion | US-China relations: Yellen, Blinken meetings won’t fix weakening foundation

“We believe that it is in the best interests of both countries to make sure we have direct and clear lines of communication at senior levels,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said ahead of four-day visit to Beijing last week. In her first visit to China, she vowed to help facilitate a “stable and constructive relationship” in spite of disagreements over a whole host of issues.

Yellen has made it clear that there is “ample room” for bilateral US-China trade as well as globally consequential cooperative initiatives, especially against climate change. She said the United States is not pursuing a zero-sum approach to China but instead is committed to a long-term trade and investments relationship.

Her trip, which came not long after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing last month, underscored growing efforts towards stabilising the world’s most consequential bilateral relationship. The top US climate envoy John Kerry is expected to visit later this month as the two sides explore restoration of bilateral dialogue on areas of shared concern.

A long-term detente between the two superpowers remains a tall order, though, thanks to tit-for-tat sanctions, an increasingly protectionist turn in US economic strategy coupled with growing mistrust towards China among the American people.

In fairness, Yellen’s visit was encouraging for many. Although striking a defiant note on the need to protect the interest of American businesses in China, she held cordial meetings with top Chinese technocrats. These included meeting Premier Li Qiang, who spoke of a potential rainbow in bilateral relations after a stormy year, as well as Chinese economic tsar and Vice-Premier He Lifeng, who is known for his advocacy for greater openness to foreign investment.

Crucially, Yellen underscored how the US will “seek to diversify and not to decouple” from China’s economy, instead focusing on enhancing its supply-chain resilience and national security through a more calibrated ‘de-risking’ strategy. The ultimate purpose of her visit was to establish a floor for relations, to arrest a perilous spiral in interactions between the world’s two leading powers.