The US sends a conciliatory message to China but warns that national security is a priority

The United States wants a "fair and constructive" economic relationship with China, but in its interaction with Beijing it will always put its national security interests before economic gain.

This is the message that the Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, has sent to the Government of the Asian giant in a speech delivered this Thursday in Washington on the bilateral relationship.

Ties between the two powers are at their lowest point in years after the US shot down a Chinese balloon that had flown over its territory and which it claimed had espionage functions.

In this climate, Yellen's speech at Johns Hopkins University could be interpreted as a conciliatory attempt.

But, above all, as a statement of the red lines of the US government.

Relations between the two capitals, today, are so icy that they should be measured in degrees Kelvin.

The visit that the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, canceled as a result of the balloon incident remains suspended

, without Washington's attempts to agree on a new date have found a response in Beijing.

The visit that Yellen herself is looking for in Beijing has not come to fruition either.

Nor is there a date for a telephone conversation between the respective leaders, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, despite the fact that the White House insists time and time again that this dialogue will take place at some point.

And meanwhile, the unfriendly gestures continue.

In the United States, the Department of Justice has arrested two people of Chinese origin this week and has filed charges against 40 Chinese officials for denouncing pressure from them - and the existence of a clandestine police station in New York - against critics of the Xi regime residents on your floor.

Beijing has imposed sanctions against US companies and both countries are keeping their swords high over Taiwan, the self-governing island aligned with Washington but which China considers an inalienable part of its territory and its main national security interest.

The US suspects that Beijing is considering sending military aid to Russia in the war in Ukraine.

After decades of symbiotic business relationship,

each country is now trying to direct its economy towards the greatest possible independence from the other.

Mutual mistrust is probably the only thing shared by the respective political classes.

The Secretary of the Treasury presented three priorities in the economic policy of the United States towards the Asian giant.

The first was clear: "We will ensure our national security interests and those of our partners and allies, and we will protect human rights," she said, according to extracts released by her department.

And she added: "We will not negotiate on these concerns, even if it is detrimental to our commercial interests."

“We will clearly communicate to the People's Republic our concerns about their behavior.

And we will not hesitate to defend our fundamental interests.”

Following this statement of principles, a cushioning of the blow.

Because the second priority is, according to Yellen, "a healthy economic relationship with China: one that nurtures growth and innovation in both countries," declared the head of the Treasury of the Biden Administration.

"A growing China that respects international law is a good thing for the United States and the world."

But—there are always buts, as is the acrimonious bilateral relationship—a healthy economic relationship "is only sustainable if competition is fair."

“We will continue to work with our allies to respond to China's unfair economic practices,” Yellen warned.

And the United States, she stressed, will continue to invest in its domestic market to develop the sectors it considers essential to maintain the advantage over its rival and main competitor.

Washington and its Western allies are rushing to develop areas such as critical raw materials, essential for the manufacture of products such as batteries for electric vehicles and where China is currently the main supplier.

Washington has vetoed the export of advanced semiconductors and chip-making equipment to the Asian giant since last year.

"I will be clear: these national security measures are not designed to gain a competitive advantage in the economy, or stifle China's technological and economic modernization," said the Treasury secretary.

"While these policies may have economic impact, they are guided by simple national security considerations."

common challenges

The third US priority, according to Yellen, is cooperation on "urgent global challenges" of mutual interest, from climate change to debt.

The Secretary of State recalled that Biden and Xi met in Bali in November last year, and since then both countries agreed to intensify their communication around this type of problem.

"But more needs to be done," stressed the senior official.

"Both countries need to be able to speak candidly about difficult issues."

And the Secretary of the Treasury took the opportunity to dismiss a saying by Xi Jinping, which has almost become a dogma of faith in the Asian giant: that China is "on the rise while the West is in decline."

The senior official pointed out that these types of predictions "have been circulating for decades, but they have always been shown to be incorrect."

"This time it will not be different either," she predicted.

Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday.

Ken Ishii / POOL (EFE)

The Bali meeting between the two leaders sought to halt the rapid decline in relations.

Both presidents agreed to take measures to enhance mutual trust between governments.

Among them, the reopening of contacts between working groups.

Blinken's visit should have boosted that incipient rapprochement process.

Since then, contacts have been minimal.

Beijing avoids setting dates to receive the Secretary of State while waiting for the FBI to publish, as rumored, a report on the downed balloon.

But there are signs that something is moving behind the scenes.

The US ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, held a meeting this Thursday with Liu Jianchao, who heads the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, one of the highest bodies of power.

Liu is the highest-ranking Chinese official to meet with a US representative since the balloon episode.

He has barely disclosed information about a face-to-face that took place in response to an "American invitation", according to the brief statement released this Thursday by the aforementioned department.

The two sides have exchanged views on "US-China relations and international and regional affairs," the note said.

That meeting is in addition to the one held last week by officials from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce with members of the United States Department of Commerce, apparently to address a possible visit by the head of that US agency, Gina Raimondo, to Beijing this year.

The official Chinese daily

interprets the meeting as an attempt at rapprochement by Washington: "With the frequent visits of dignitaries from many countries to China and the start of a new round of diplomatic boom [by China], the government The American has made frequent announcements expressing the evident willingness of many officials, especially economic and commercial officials, to visit China.

But the newspaper itself, usually a hard line, is skeptical about the success of these efforts.

In a blunt editorial on Wednesday, he ditched in reference to Blinken: "With a very busy diplomacy, China doesn't have time to welcome insincere people."

Follow all the international information on

Subscribe to continue reading

Read without limits

Keep reading

I'm already a subscriber