Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (劉鶴) and US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen privately discussed points of disagreement during a break from official proceedings in their first in-person meeting, a senior Treasury official said.
The meeting is seen as a sign that the world’s top economies are seeking to downplay tensions and spotlight a constructive tone in their discussions.
Wednesday’s meeting, which was only announced two days earlier, was billed by both delegations as a step toward improving dialogue and an opportunity to exchange views over areas of disagreement.
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The official briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity following the talks in Zurich.
An earlier statement from the Treasury called the discussions “candid, substantive and constructive,” and announced plans for Yellen to visit Beijing later this year.
Liu and Yellen retreated to one end of the room after a coffee break, accompanied only by translators who were largely unneeded due to Liu’s command of English, the official said.
After some time, staff members asked the two whether the formal session should restart, but were rebuffed because the private conversation was going so well, the person added.
Later, when talks between the delegations reached the stage at which grievances were due to be aired, Yellen and Liu told the group that there was no need to do so because they had already addressed all the key issues.
The Treasury official did not reveal details about what had been said during the informal portion of the meeting.
Among the contentious issues that had been expected to come up during the meeting were China’s objections to US export and investment controls. The US has angered Beijing in recent months by seeking to deny China access to advanced semiconductors, a technology China has said is crucial to its economic development.
Other key subjects addressed in the talks were US efforts to cool inflation without triggering a recession, and China’s real-estate crunch, the official said.
The pair also discussed the growing problem of heavily indebted low and middle-income countries. Yellen specifically mentioned Zambia, where she is scheduled to visit later this month, the person said.
Zambia is seen as an important test case for the so-called Common Framework, a program organized by wealthy nations to help debtors simultaneously negotiate with their sovereign and private creditors.
The African country defaulted in 2020 and is seeking to restructure about US$12.8 billion in external debt. About one-third of that is owed to China, which has been criticized for delaying the process.
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