Remarks by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen Ahead of Bilateral Meeting with Premier Li Qiang of the People’s Republic of China

As Prepared for Delivery

Premier Li, it is good to see you again following our meeting last July.

Earlier this year, you delivered a speech in Davos where you said that “after all the shifts and changes over the years, we should all the more cherish communication and exchange” and “peace and stability.”

While we have more to do, I believe that, over the past year, we have put our bilateral relationship on more stable footing. This has not meant ignoring our differences or avoiding tough conversations. It has meant understanding that we can only make progress if we directly and openly communicate with one another.

As the world’s two largest economies, we have a duty to our own countries and to the world to responsibly manage our complex relationship and to cooperate and show leadership on addressing pressing global challenges.

I have returned to China at President Biden’s direction following the Woodside Summit to build on the foundation that we have laid. Earlier this week in Guangzhou, Vice Premier He and I announced important steps that will contribute to addressing challenges in our economic relationship—including making sure that our workers and firms compete on a level playing field—as we also deepen cooperation on shared concerns like illicit finance.

I look forward to building on this progress today by discussing areas both where we have shared interests and where we have differences of opinion, in the spirit of continuing to responsibly manage our relationship.

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