This week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is scheduled to go to China

According to a senior Treasury source on Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will visit Beijing on Thursday as part of continuing Biden administration efforts to heal U.S.-China ties.

Yellen has regularly expressed her desire to go to China over the last year, calling the idea of an economic separation from China “disastrous.” Despite their tense ties over geopolitical and economic growth, she asserts that the two countries “can and need to find a way to live together.” The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the specifics of the trip, said that Yellen would meet this week with Chinese officials, U.S. firms doing business in China, and Chinese individuals. She will remain in China until July 9.

According to the official, the objective of her visit is to strengthen and expand the frequency of dialogue between the United States and China. The insider said that while there are obvious areas of shared interest where Yellen can advance, there are also fundamental disputes that cannot be settled in a one trip.

At a campaign event earlier in June, President Joe Biden referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a “dictator,” which sparked the most recent incident. Although the Chinese raised a lot of objections, Biden subsequently said that his direct remarks on China are “just not something I’m going to change very much.”

The U.S. president’s remarks follow tensions over a Chinese surveillance balloon that the American government shot down, limits on China’s access to cutting-edge computer chips headed by the US, and persistent difficulties over Taiwan’s status and security. However, the president advised his audience “don’t worry” about China since the U.S. has taken efforts to compete with its financial and technical goals in Biden’s dictator remarks made during a California fundraising event.

Following Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s two-day visit to Beijing in June, Yellen’s trip would be the highest-level gatherings in China in the previous five years. During their meeting, Blinken and Xi decided to repair the deteriorating US-China relations. Better military communications, however, could not be agreed upon. Treasury officials confirmed that she would not be meeting with Xi but did not say with which officials specifically.

The visit of the treasury secretary will be more concerned with balancing the world economy and addressing China’s backing of Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine by land. Despite maintaining neutrality in the conflict, China has become uncomfortably close to the Kremlin, organising joint military exercises and paying Russian leaders regular state visits.

U.S. officials continue to harbour optimism that ties between the two countries won’t worsen any more.

Yellen met with her former Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Liu He, in January in Switzerland and delivered a significant speech at Johns Hopkins University in April calling for “cooperation on the urgent global challenges of our day” between the two nations for the sake of preserving global stability while supporting economic sanctions against China to advance U.S. national security interests.

There are signs in recent events that might lead to a rekindled romance.

Last week, during a global banking meeting in Paris, an agreement was negotiated to restructure Zambia’s debt with its creditors, including China, which is the country’s largest creditor, holding $4.1 billion of its overall $6.3 billion in debt. The agreement may serve as a model for how China would approach restructuring agreements with other debt-ridden countries and demonstrates the Asian superpower’s willingness to participate in talks with other Group of 20 countries.

In a statement last week, Yellen said, “I am glad that the world community has joined together to help Zambia in its time of need.

Other conflicts, however, have a significant influence on the relationship between the superpowers. Her prior vacation plans were derailed and things became even more tense after a Chinese spy balloon was found flying over key U.S. territory in February.

Earlier this year, U.S. senators questioned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about data security and the social media company’s links to China, with some advocating for a ban on the app, which is well-liked by American teenagers.

Additionally, the Biden administration implemented export restrictions in October of last year to prevent China from gaining access to sophisticated semiconductors that may be used to produce weapons, violate human rights, or accelerate and better coordinate its military operations.

In an attempt to prevent China from acquiring technology that may enhance its military capabilities, Biden is also considering drafting an executive order that would tighten regulations on certain foreign investments made by American businesses. This is why Yellen is travelling at this time.

However, commerce links the American and Chinese economies. Furthermore, Yellen said in her Johns Hopkins talk that “a full separation of our economies would be disastrous for both countries,” notwithstanding robust remarks about the need to reconsider the alliance. It would make the rest of the globe unstable. Instead, we are aware of the tight ties between the American and Chinese economies.

China sent items to the United States worth more than $536 billion last year. In comparison, the Census Bureau estimates that the United States shipped items to China worth $154 billion.