On the eve of the opening of the Leaders' Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will hold a two-day meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, in San Francisco this week to deepen the recently resumed economic dialogue between the world's two largest economies.
The US Treasury announced on Monday (November 6th) that the meeting scheduled for November 9th to 10th will officially launch a new economic and financial forum launched by the US Treasury, the Chinese Treasury, and the central bank in October this year.
  Yellen had already held a meeting with He Lifeng during his visit to China in July this year. At that time, while the United States was tightening restrictions on sensitive technology exports to China, the two were trying to stabilize the deteriorating US China relationship.
The meeting between Yellen and He Lifeng, as well as the bilateral forum presided over, was held on the eve of the annual Ministerial and Leaders' Meeting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Organization. The United States is the host of this year's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference, which will be held in San Francisco from November 11th to 17th.  
As the foundation of our relationship, our two countries have an obligation to establish resilient and open channels of communication to prevent our differences from escalating into conflicts, "Yellen pointed out in an article published in the Washington Post's editorial section. But we also realize that our relationship cannot be limited to crisis management
Before Yellen held talks with He Lifeng, Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the CPC Central Committee and foreign minister, visited Washington at the end of last month, and held several rounds of talks with Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States, and Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser of the White House. President Biden also met with Wang Yi at the White House and talked to him for nearly an hour.
The information released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that He Lifeng will visit the United States from November 8th to 12th. Since Liu He retired, He Lifeng has become the Chinese person in charge of economic and trade issues between the United States and China.
Reuters reported that a senior US Treasury official did not emphasize that the meeting between Yellen and He Lifeng must produce any specific "results" because it was not a "policy transaction" of "barter".
However, the official pointed out that Yellen's goal is to understand how the new economic communication channels between the United States and China will operate and how to ensure that communication channels are not "disrupted". Yellen also hopes for closer communication between the two countries.
Reuters quoted the official as saying that Yellen also hopes to discuss with Chinese officials what kind of revitalization plan the Chinese government is considering to boost economic growth, and also hopes to understand under what circumstances China may change its policy path.
This week, I will express to my counterparts our serious concerns about Beijing's unfair economic behavior, including their large-scale use of non market tools, setting market access barriers, and taking coercive actions against American companies in China, "Yellen pointed out in an article published in the Washington Post's editorial section.
Yellen reiterated in this article that the United States seeks to engage in "healthy competition" with China, rather than "instigating private enterprises to leave China in a disorderly and comprehensive manner when taking action to diversify supply chains and protect US national security".
Communication between the United States and China helps US officials explain policies such as US export controls and restrictions on US investment in China to Chinese officials in Beijing.
However, Yellen also pointed out in an article published in the Washington Post's speech section that her conversation with He Lifeng does not mean a return to the US China Strategic and Economic Dialogue model of the Obama era, as that dialogue model has been widely criticized for its ineffective performance.
Yellen stated that her dialogue with He Lifeng will "focus on specific and top priority economic issues where we can make practical progress".
Yellen believes that these topics include cooperation between the two countries on global challenges, such as tackling climate change, accelerating debt relief for poor countries, reducing illegal financial flows supporting terrorism, and combating illegal drug trade.