(15 June 2023 – United States) Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asserted that the United States (US) should de-risk its relationship with China but preserving cordial relations between the countries is critically important.
In an address to the House Financial Services Committee, Yellen stated that it is in the US best interest to avoid severing ties with China albeit documented allegations of human rights abuses in China and questionable trade policies need to be “addressed.”
Yellen also pushed for lawmakers to lend more money to developing countries to counter China’s growing influence in the Pacific and Africa.
“While we surely have concerns that need to be addressed, decoupling would be a big mistake. Americans benefit greatly from buying goods that are cheaper to produce in China. China equally benefits from US exports that also bolster the US economy” Yellen said in her testimony before the House Financial Services Committee.
“That’s why it would be disastrous to cease trading with China. De-risk? Yes. Decouple? Absolutely not” Yellen added.