WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her Chinese counterpart will meet in San Francisco on Thursday to start two days of talks aimed at making progress on a slew of economic issues when competition has markedly intensified between their countries.
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.
The White House is not expecting the face-to-face meeting to result in major changes to the relationship between the two nations, according to a person familiar with the planning, although it hopes to see some signs of progress.
Analysts say expectations should be kept low, given the competitive nature of the countries’ relationship.