Risk of US-China decoupling ‘still high’ despite olive branch from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
- Yellen has called for a ‘constructive and fair relationship’ between the world’s two largest economies and said the US did not want to ‘stifle’ China
- But Chinese analysts say there is still a high risk that the divide between the two sides will only get wider
In what some saw as Washington’s latest attempt to mend its frayed ties with Beijing, Yellen called on Thursday for a “constructive and fair” economic relationship between the world’s two largest economies and urged China to keep cooperating on issues such as climate change.
She also defended the White House’s economic restrictions on China, saying that they were a matter of national security and were not designed to “stifle” the Chinese economy and its technological development.
“As in all of our foreign relations, national security is of paramount importance in our relationship with China,” Yellen said in a speech at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
“Even though these policies may have economic impacts, they are driven by straightforward national security considerations. We will not compromise on these concerns, even when they force trade-offs with our economic interests.”
Both countries have been trying to strike a balance between their strong economic ties and their security concerns, but Pang Zhongying, a professor of international affairs at Sichuan University, said the risk of decoupling remained high.