Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticized China for its strict, punitive measures taken against foreign firms, especially U.S. companies, during the first half of her trip to Beijing on behalf of the Biden administration.
Yellen was reportedly “concerned” regarding the hostile conditions American businesses face in the communist nation and the Chinese government’s export restrictions on some minerals used to produce semiconductor chips, according to the New York Times. The diplomatic visit was made to improve economic cooperation between the United States and China.
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“During meetings with my counterparts, I am communicating the concerns that I’ve heard from the U.S. business community — including China’s use of nonmarket tools like expanded subsidies for its state-owned enterprises and domestic firms, as well as barriers to market access for foreign firms,” Yellen said on Friday.
“I’ve been particularly troubled by punitive actions that have been taken against U.S. firms in recent months,” she added.
Her comments come as the Biden administration imposed sweeping restrictions on U.S.-China trade in the past year, most notably limiting the sale of chipmaking technology. The U.S. is considering limiting further restrictions on China pertaining to the technology sector — possibly affecting the sale of artificial intelligence chips, U.S. technology investment in the rivaling nation, and China’s access to U.S. cloud computing services.
Following her criticisms, the treasury secretary reassured Chinese government officials that economic measures taken against China due to national security concerns should not be considered antagonistic and reaffirmed that the U.S. wants to foster a “healthy competition” between the world’s two largest economies.
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“The United States will, in certain circumstances, need to pursue targeted actions to protect its national security. And we may disagree in these instances,” Yellen said. “However, we should not allow any disagreement to lead to misunderstandings that needlessly worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the last Biden administration official to visit Beijing in an effort to ease the tension between the two nations. Yellen’s trip, which began Thursday, will end on Sunday.