US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met Wednesday with her Chinese counterpart and pledged an effort to manage differences and “prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict.”
Yellen’s first face-to-face meeting with Vice Premier Liu He was the highest-ranking contact between the two countries since their presidents agreed last November to look for areas of potential cooperation, reports AP.
The meeting comes as the US and Chinese economies grapple with differing, but intertwined challenges on trade, technology and more.
Liu, for his part, said he was ready to work together to seek common ground between China and the US.
Both economies have their challenges.
The Chinese economy is reopening after a Covid-19 resurgence killed tens of thousands of people and shuttered countless businesses. The US is slowly recovering from 40-year-high inflation and is on track to hit its statutory debt ceiling, setting up an expected political showdown between congressional Democrats and Republicans.
The debt issue is of keen interest to Asia, as China is the second-largest holder of US debt.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
