Wally Adeyemo, Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury No 2 urges get-tough attitude on China
- Nominee for deputy treasury secretary wants the US to work with allies to ‘demonstrate to the Chinese that they’re isolated when they violate the rules’
- Investors are waiting to see if Biden’s administration will revoke Trump’s ban on US investment in alleged Chinese military companies
Wally Adeyemo, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the No 2 job at the US Treasury, said on Tuesday that Washington should work with allies to hold China accountable to international rules to ensure a level playing field for companies in the United States and elsewhere.
“China is our top strategic competitor,” Adeyemo told a confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
“Where China is not willing to play on a level playing field, it’s important that we hold them accountable in the international system,” Adeyemo said, adding that taking such action with other countries would better “demonstrate to the Chinese that they’re isolated when they violate the rules”.
Echoing comments from other Biden officials, Adeyemo struck a hardline tone on Beijing, vowing to fight what he called “unfair economic practices” in China and elsewhere, while working to rectify economic inequality at home.
If confirmed as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s deputy, Adeyemo, 39, would play a key role in shaping US economic policy on issues ranging from financial regulation to relief for everyday Americans and US sanctions on foreign governments.
A former senior adviser at asset manager BlackRock Inc and the child of Nigerian immigrants, Adeyemo would be the first black deputy secretary of the Treasury. He served as a top national security and economic adviser to Democratic President Barack Obama and held senior jobs at the Treasury.