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Four days of top-level economic meetings between the United States and China concluded in Beijing on Monday with no major breakthroughs, but the world\u2019s two largest economies agreed to hold more discussions to address rising friction over trade, investment and national security.<\/p>\n
The conversation is poised to become even more difficult, however, as hopes of greater economic cooperation collide with a harsh political reality: It is an election year in the United States, and antipathy toward China is running high. At the same time, Chinese officials appeared unmoved by Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen\u2019s urging that China scale back its recent surge of green energy technology exports<\/a>, which could threaten American jobs.<\/p>\n Despite a warm welcome on her second trip to China as Treasury secretary, which included meetings with the premier and with senior economic and finance officials, it was evident that the level of trust between the two sides does not run deep.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is much more work to do,\u201d Ms. Yellen said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday. \u201cAnd it remains unclear what this relationship will endure in the months and years ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Treasury secretary added that she believed that China was engaging in the discussions in good faith and that progress was being made. \u201cI do not want to see the U.S. economic relationship, or the overall relationship with China, deteriorate and fray,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The most pressing matter that is likely to divide them in the coming months is how the Biden administration plans to address concerns that Chinese exports of electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar panels<\/a> pose a threat to the very industries that the United States is spending trillions of dollars to develop domestically.<\/p>\n During her meetings with her Chinese counterparts, Ms. Yellen tried to argue that China should focus more on investing in domestic consumption and warned that flooding markets with exports would disrupt supply chains. Europe, Mexico and Brazil are all pursuing anti-dumping investigations into China that could lead to new trade restrictions, and Ms. Yellen suggested that the United States was prepared to protect its burgeoning industries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n China has denied illegally subsidizing its new energy exports, and it has raised concerns about what its officials perceive as a wave of unfair protectionism. During a meeting on Sunday between Ms. Yellen and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, Mr. Li pushed back on the question of Chinese exports. He said the issue should be viewed objectively and from \u201ca market perspective,\u201d pointing to China\u2019s position that the surge in exports is driven by global demand.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cChina hopes that the U.S. side will work with the Chinese side to adhere to the basic norms of market economy of fair competition and open cooperation, and refrain from politicizing and national-securitizing economic and trade issues,\u201d Mr. Li was quoted as saying in an official summary of the meeting issued by the Chinese government. (Economists and foreign trade officials, however, argue that China\u2019s industrial policy \u2014 including low-interest loans from state banks to factories, and low-cost land transfers \u2014 helps the country\u2019s exports.)<\/p>\n The prospect of additional American tariffs comes as China has been seeking a rollback of some of the ones that Washington imposed on Chinese imports during the Trump administration. Asked by reporters if the United States might impose new trade restrictions if China did not change its policies, Ms. Yellen said she did not want to \u201cget ahead of where we are,\u201d but she added that it would \u201cnot be acceptable to the United States\u201d for China to continue to pursue an export strategy that hurts American workers.<\/p>\n Treasury officials said they did not make any tariff threats during their meetings in China, but they did note that several other countries had been initiating anti-dumping investigations in response to the flood of cheap Chinese green energy exports.<\/p>\n Ms. Yellen also met on Monday with Pan Gongsheng, the governor of the People\u2019s Bank of China. She had earlier held talks in the southern city of Guangzhou with her primary counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng. <\/p>\n The United States and China agreed to hold \u201cintensive exchanges on balanced growth,\u201d Ms. Yellen said, to address the concerns about the flood of exports<\/a> from China that some officials argue is distorting global markets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Ms. Yellen acknowledged that China is unlikely to change course in the near future. Some observers suggested that China was stalling by merely agreeing to hold more talks on the matter.<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. needs to be cleareyed and vigilant and not allow these new talks to become an excuse for inaction by China,\u201d said Wendy Cutler, a vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. \u201cIn light of weak domestic demand and overproduction, China should take steps now to prevent export surges to the United States and other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n Trade experts have suggested that with the U.S. election approaching and former President Donald J. Trump proposing sweeping new tariffs, it was already unlikely that existing import levies would be lowered.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is little prospect of a significant de-escalation of tariffs and other trade restrictions imposed by Washington, but avoiding any further escalation of overt bilateral trade hostilities in the coming months would in itself be an accomplishment for both sides,\u201d said Eswar Prasad, a former head of the International Monetary Fund\u2019s China division.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A senior Treasury official who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity, as is customary for such government briefings, said Chinese officials had voiced concerns about U.S. national security measures directed at China. The Biden administration has been focused on preventing China from gaining access to information about American consumers; restricting China\u2019s access to technology, such as semiconductors, that could advance its military; and preventing electric vehicles with Chinese components from being eligible for U.S. subsidies through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In Washington, Congress is working through legislation that aims to force the Chinese company ByteDance, under threat of an American ban, to sell the social media platform TikTok.<\/p>\n Ms. Yellen said Chinese officials raised their concerns about the TikTok legislation during the talks. The Biden administration views TikTok as a national security concern, and President Biden has indicated that he will sign the TikTok legislation bill if it passes. Ms. Yellen said that protecting personal data is a \u201clegitimate concern\u201d and noted that many American social media platforms are not allowed to operate in China.<\/p>\n On Monday, Ms. Yellen described the national security conversations with China as \u201cdifficult\u201d and indicated that the United States would work to clearly signal its plans and intentions.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the U.S. needs to continually evaluate its national security measures given the rapid pace of technological development, we are committed to \u2018no surprises,\u2019\u201d Ms. Yellen said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Biden administration faces calls from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers at the national and local levels for measures that aim to decouple the two economies, through investment restrictions and new tariffs on Chinese imports. At the same time, Beijing has sought reassurances<\/a> from Washington that it does not seek to decouple from China.<\/p>\n During her trip, Ms. Yellen has sought to learn more about Chinese culture. Her visits to a Cantonese restaurant in Guangzhou and a Sichuanese restaurant in Beijing drew attention on Chinese social media. And on Sunday, the Treasury secretary learned about the history of the Ming and Qing Dynasties during a private tour of the Forbidden City.<\/p>\n Ms. Yellen emphasized on Monday that while the United States wants to protect national security, it does not seek to sever<\/a> trade and investment between the two countries.<\/p>\n \u201cOur two economies are deeply integrated, and a wholesale separation would be disastrous for both of our economies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Siyi Zhao contributed reporting from Seoul.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n