US treasury chief to visit China after Blinken's failed trip, Biden's insulting remarks

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to visit China later this week in a purported bid to "deepen communication" with Beijing, following a recent failed trip there by the nation's top diplomat as well as Biden's labeling of China's Xi Jinping a "dictator." 

"While in Beijing, Secretary Yellen will discuss with PRC officials the importance for our countries - as the world’s two largest economies - to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges, Washington’s treasury department declared in a statement on Sunday, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Adding that Yellen will meet with “a number of high-ranking Chinese officials,” the statement further boasted that the visit "follows President [Joe] Biden’s directive after his meeting with [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] last November to deepen communication between the US and the PRC on a range of issues, including on the global macroeconomy and financial developments."

The official statement went on to boast what it described as Washington’s “principles” in building economic ties with Beijing, demanding security for “our national security interests along with those of our allies” as well as “a healthy economic relationship with China that … expands economic opportunity for American workers and businesses.”

The development comes just a week after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended Biden’s undiplomatic remarks calling Xi a “dictator,” prompting a strong reaction by Beijing that slammed such talk as “extremely absurd and irresponsible.”

Blinken upholds Biden’s calling Xi ‘dictator’; Beijing slams label as ‘extremely absurd’

US top diplomat upholds Joe Biden’s labeling of his Chinese counterpart a ‘dictator’, irking Beijing, which slammed the remark as “extremely absurd.”

“The President always speaks candidly, he speaks directly. He speaks clearly, and he speaks for all of us,” Blinken claimed during a televised interview with the local CBS News network’s Face the Nation program.

Biden’s remarks during a fundraising event came just days after Blinken returned from a high-profile visit to China -- widely publicized as a bid to ease tensions with Beijing.

The visit followed surging tensions between the world’s two biggest economies and rival military powers over persisting disputes in areas such as Taiwan, trade and regional influences.

China was quick to respond to Biden’s offensive remarks, blasting them “a blatant political provocation.”

Prior to his visit to Beijing, Blinken insisted that the objective of his China visit was to restore channels of communication with Chinese officials in an effort to avoid miscalculations by the two sides turning into an all-out military confrontation.

Blinken was the highest-ranking US official to visit China since the incumbent president took office in 2021.

The visit came as China’s top military officials continued their refusal to hold talks with the Americans in recent months, citing US sanctions slapped against Beijing and senior Chinese officials as an obstacle to their bilateral relationship.

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