Yellen-Liu He Call... "Bilateral Cooperation Discussed in Macroeconomic Field" (Update)

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (left) and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He held a video call to discuss bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy and trade.

According to Bloomberg and Xinhua News Agency on the 26th, Secretary Yellen and Vice Premier Liu discussed the macroeconomic situation as well as multilateral and bilateral cooperation during the morning call.

Both sides engaged in practical, frank, and constructive dialogue, and Xinhua reported that the two agreed on the importance of communication and cooperation in macroeconomic policy between the two countries at this critical time for the global economic recovery.

During the call, the Chinese side conveyed demands including the removal of the U.S.'s high tariffs on China and sanctions targeting Chinese companies.

Secretary Yellen and Vice Premier Liu previously held their first video call since the Biden administration took office on June 2.

Vice Premier Liu was the Chinese negotiator in trade talks between the U.S. and China during the Trump administration. Since the Biden administration began earlier this year, he has maintained contact with Secretary Yellen and Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

Earlier this month, Representative Tai announced plans to exclude some goods imported from China from high tariff impositions.

Although dialogue between the U.S. and China continues, U.S. authorities still raise human rights issues in China, maintaining pressure and restraint.

President Biden has repeatedly addressed human rights concerns such as forced labor of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and the suppression of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, expressing his intention to tighten the reins on China by building an alliance front with Western democratic countries.

Recently, the U.S. launched the so-called 'AUKUS,' a security alliance among English-speaking countries including the United Kingdom and Australia, aimed at countering China.