The Facts
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to host Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Thursday for two days of meetings in San Fransisco, ahead of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
The US Dept. of the Treasury announced on Monday that the meeting will focus on "intensive diplomacy." Writing an op-ed for The Washington Post the same day, Yellen claimed that both China and the US had an "obligation" to "establish resilient lines of open communication" in order to prevent disagreements from "spiraling into conflict."
The Spin
Pro-China narrative
Having previously met in July, further talks between He and Yellen highlight an attempt to restabilize US-China relations. While a great deal will need to be done to clear the air, with questions remaining over Taiwan while trade spats look set to continue despite the US' dependency on Chinese products. China has consistently stressed to the US that the two are on the same side, and any further confrontation will only jeopardize the future of both countries.
Anti-China narrative
This meeting takes place at a time when China is struggling economically, affected by the failed appearance of a hoped post-pandemic boom and a real estate crisis. While China claims that the US continues to attempt to stifle Beijing's economic growth, the US has maintained that its focus is on national security. With the dollar value of total trade in goods reaching a near-record level in recent years, the US sits in a good position for economic talks with China.
