The US Treasury Secretary is going to China in a new attempt to mend relations

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit China this week in a new effort to improve relations between the two countries, which are at their lowest level in decades due to a series of issues.

The stakes of the visit are high, since the global economy depends on the stabilization of relations between the world's two largest economies, especially in times of uncertainty, Radio Free Europe (RSE) reports the writings of world media.

Jelen will spend four days in China starting Thursday, July 6, as the two countries step up efforts to stabilize their turbulent relations, the Financial Times points out.

She goes to China just weeks after Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Beijing in hopes of improving relations that are at their worst since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979.

A senior official of the US Treasury Department, however, warned that it is unlikely that Jelen's visit will bring "significant developments".

Jelen said in April that Washington wants healthy economic relations with China, but will respond to its "unfair economic practices", noting that the US wants cooperation on global challenges such as debt reduction and climate change.

The US and China are at loggerheads over a range of issues, including Beijing's military activity over Taiwan and new anti-espionage and anti-sanctions laws that complicate business for US companies in China. On the other hand, Beijing accuses the US of meddling in the issue of Taiwan, over which it claims sovereignty, and of introducing export controls aimed at denying China access to advanced chips.

Yelen's visit will be a test of the Biden administration's ability to improve relations with China, while implementing an economic strategy aimed at reducing the reliance of American companies on Chinese factories, the Washington Post points out, with the assessment that the finance minister in China will have to "delicately balance diplomatically".

During her stay in Beijing, the two sides could clash over the administration's plans to de-risk trade relations with China by relying instead on friendly countries to produce key materials, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and batteries for electric vehicles.

Jelen will also try to gain insight into how Chinese President Xi Jinping's new team is handling all the major economic challenges.

The US minister's visit coincides with increased uncertainty about the global economy, at a time when China's post-pandemic economic recovery is faltering, and the US is trying to avoid recession while curbing inflation, writes the New York Times.

As a result, as the paper assesses, Jelen's visit to China has high stakes since it should help stabilize the problematic relations between the world's two largest economies.

Tensions between the two countries have been heightened by the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon over the US earlier this year, as well as efforts by the Biden administration to deny China access to certain sensitive technologies.

While there are complaints from the Chinese side about the Biden administration's efforts to limit US dependence on goods from China, as well as limiting China's access to advanced technology, Washington is unhappy with Beijing's reluctance to negotiate the terms of loans to poor countries and maintaining close economic ties with Russia despite the country's invasion. to Ukraine.

China has also expressed displeasure at US efforts to divert supply chains from China to other countries Washington considers allies.

It is expected that Jelen will also express concern about the violation of human rights of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.

While the US and China are starting to talk again, the question is whether they can normalize relations so as to avoid disruptions to the global economy, writes the Wall Street Journal, with the assessment that the global economic order is at stake.

Tensions over trade, technology and Taiwan have prompted both countries to reexamine the deep commercial and investment ties that have defined their relationship for decades, the paper said, adding that Yelen hopes to preserve many of those ties and Chinese officials want to stop the slowdown in their economy. showing that they remain open to business from the West.

The stake of the talks, as the International Monetary Fund warned, is the possible "fragmentation" of the world economy into two blocs, which would slow down global growth. If relations between Washington and Beijing deteriorate further, US officials worry that China could cut off access to key goods such as components for electric vehicles.

The visit to Yelen will be another attempt by the rivals to halt the downward spiral in relations, after Blinken met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in June. However, shortly after that, Biden said that Xi is a "dictator", which brought new turbulence to the relations between the two countries.

On the other hand, the Biden administration has been preparing measures for months with the aim of preventing some US investments in Chinese technology sectors that are considered a risk to US national security. It also wants to impose additional restrictions on chip exports to China to make it harder for Beijing to develop advanced artificial intelligence.