On Monday, China imposed curbs on overseas sales of gallium and germanium, elements essential to making semiconductors, which have become a growing source of friction between the world’s top two economies. The move was widely seen as a response to the Biden administration’s ban on advanced chip sales to China, which was announced last October.
Healthy competition Yellen sought to play the peacemaker during her meeting with Premier Li Qiang, a trusted long-time ally of leader Xi Jinping. She said Washington sought healthy economic competition, with a fair set of rules, that was not winner-takes-all. “The United States will, in certain circumstances, need to pursue targeted actions to protect its national security. And we may disagree in these instances,” she said.