Yellen hints at meeting with Chinese counterpart

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Saturday hinted at a meeting with her Chinese equivalent as tensions between the United States and China have been simmering.

Speaking with Bloomberg's David Gura at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas, Yellen said she "certainly may" go back to China, but would otherwise "welcome" a visit stateside from Vice Premier He Lifeng.

"I certainly may go back there — I would welcome a visit by my Chinese counterpart, and my guess is that we will have one way or another a visit," she said.

Yellen acknowledged the economic issues the U.S. and China disagree on, but emphasized that "we also need to collaborate." She pointed to issues such as climate change and debt relief for developing nations as areas the two nations could collaborate on.

Yellen's comments come more than a week after U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan's three-day trip to China, which was the first time in nearly a decade that someone in his position visited the country. That trip included meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

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Notably, the meeting with Xi included a remark from Sullivan that President Joe Biden looks forward to talking with Xi "in the coming weeks," suggesting a call between the two leaders may be coming.

Yellen herself last visited China in April, in which she met with Lifeng, Chinese Central Bank Governor Pan Gongsheng, former Vice Premier Liu He, leaders of U.S. businesses operating in China, university students, and local leaders.