Yellen’s talks with Vice Premier He Lifeng are designed to help lay the groundwork for an expected meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, which would be their first engagement in nearly a year.
Analysts say expectations should be kept low, given the competitive nature of the countries’ relationship. Earlier this year, US lawmakers held hearings over data security and harmful content with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, contemplating whether to ban the hugely popular app due to its Chinese connections.
Xi similarly met with Blinken in June when the secretary of state traveled to Beijing for talks with Wang.