Yellen returns to China to tackle economic challenges bedeviling ties with US

Janet Yellen has kicked off her second visit to China as US treasury secretary to continue efforts to further stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies.

Janet Yellen has kicked off her second visit to China as US treasury secretary to continue efforts to further stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies. One pressing issue that Yellen is expected to address is an oversupply of Chinese goods in key industries such as electric vehicles (EVs) and solar panels, which has quickly emerged as a major area of contention in the run-up to November’s US presidential election. Yellen has also flagged concerns about what she called China’s shift away from a market approach toward the US and global economies by providing state subsidies to some manufacturing industries. US officials and lawmakers have expressed concerns that China’s overinvestment and excess capacity could result in cheap products flooding global markets, affecting local industries and employment. Asked by reporters on Wednesday whether she would consider trade barriers if China doesn’t heed warnings on overcapacity, Yellen said she “wouldn’t want to rule [it] out,” though she wasn’t planning any immediate measures. Yellen reiterated that she would discuss how the two countries can compete on a “level playing field” without having to “decouple our economies.”