As the first member of the U.S. Cabinet to visit China this year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's six-day visit to China has attracted much attention. There's one detail in it that is worth savoring.

When Yellen and her entourage dined at a Sichuan restaurant in Beijing, the restaurant prepared knives and forks for them in advance, but they all used chopsticks, and they were still very proficient in using chopsticks. When Yellen came to Guangzhou for her first meal, she was also captured by the media with the details of "chopsticks used well".

A small pair of chopsticks, but it implies the way of getting along with China and the United States.

Only when the two chopsticks work together can you get delicious food smoothly. If China and the United States are each regarded as chopsticks, then only by cooperating with each other can they achieve each other, taste more "feasts", and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, while isolation and "decoupling" can only hurt both.

Yellen, who "uses chopsticks well", should also understand this truth. During her visit to China, Yellen repeatedly stated that the United States does not seek "decoupling" from China.

On April 8, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in Beijing that the U.S. and China have close economic ties, that a healthy economic relationship will bring significant benefits to both countries, and that stable bilateral economic relations are the common aspirations of the two countries.？Photo by China News Service reporter Jiang Qiming

To reiterate, a statement

On April 5, Yellen told American business people in Guangzhou that both Biden and she firmly oppose the view that the United States should "decouple" from China, and that complete economic separation is neither practical nor desirable.

On April 7, Premier Li Qiang met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Yellen said that the US appreciates the progress made in the US-China economic dialogue and cooperation, and does not seek to "decouple" from China.

On April 8, Yellen once again stressed at a press conference at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to China that the United States does not seek "decoupling" from China, and that the deep integration of the two countries' economies and the complete separation of the two countries would be disastrous for both sides.

With more than one-third of the world's economy, nearly one-quarter of the world's total population, and one-fifth of the world's bilateral trade, these two big countries really cannot tolerate "decoupling".

Listen to his words, but also watch his deeds.

On the one hand, the United States has emphasized that it does not seek "decoupling" from China, but on the other hand, repressive measures have continued, such as suppressing TikTok, restricting overseas investment in Chinese companies, imposing sanctions on China's advanced chip manufacturers, and so on.

China welcomes the US statement that it has no intention of seeking decoupling from China and hopes that the US will take concrete actions to stop sanctions and restrictions on Chinese companies.

The implication is that the US cannot always say one thing and do another.

Two new consensuses were reached

Yellen's visit to China was very rich, including meetings with Premier Li Qiang, leaders of China-US economic and trade relations and Vice Premier He Lifeng, Minister of Finance Lan Foan, and Governor of the People's Bank of China Pan Gongsheng, as well as some Chinese political and academic figures.

The outside world is concerned, what results have been achieved by the two sides during this visit to China?

Regarding the consensus results, Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min introduced at a briefing on April 8 that the two sides reaffirmed the three-point consensus reached at the San Francisco talks in November: "strengthening communication", "preventing decoupling" and "responding to common challenges", and reached the following new consensus results:

First, the Ministries of Finance of the two countries will take the lead in exchanging views on the balanced growth of the two countries and the global economy under the framework of the China-US Economic Working Group.

Second, led by the People's Bank of China and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, continuous exchanges on financial stability, sustainable finance, anti-money laundering and other issues under the framework of the Financial Working Group have been carried out.

"I don't want to see the U.S. economic relationship with China deteriorate or the relationship in general. Yellen said the visit had made significant progress.

These new consensuses will also help to avoid further deterioration of China-US relations and reduce misunderstandings and miscalculations, which the world wants to see.

On April 8, Yellen held a press conference at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to China, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of developing a healthy economic relationship between the United States and China.？Photo by China News Service reporter Jiang Qiming

Respond to a disagreement

While in China, Yellen threw out the so-called "overcapacity" rhetoric. Some media noted that when she spoke at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China in Guangzhou, the term "overcapacity" was mentioned five times.

Before her visit, Yellen attacked China's new energy industry for "overcapacity," saying that "excess capacity is disrupting global prices and hurting American businesses and workers."

Obviously, China's "new three" has made Yellen a little anxious. In response to this disagreement, China has made a full and rational response to this difference in meetings and talks with Yellen at all levels.

China believes that in the context of economic globalization, we should uphold the principles of market economy and the law of value to look at the issue of production capacity, and should analyze the issue of production capacity in light of the global division of labor and the international market.

Taking new energy vehicles as an example, according to the International Energy Agency, the global demand for new energy vehicles will reach 45 million in 2030, 4.5 times that of 2022, and the global demand for new photovoltaic capacity will reach 820 GW, about four times that of 2022. The current production capacity is far from meeting the market demand, especially the potential demand for new energy products in many developing countries.

The Chinese side is both reasonable and data-oriented.

In fact, even the foreign media can't stand the arguments of the United States and the West. Bloomberg's latest article on April 3 argues that the relevant data analysis does not support the so-called "overcapacity" in emerging industries.

The South China Morning Post pointed out that in their attacks on China, the United States and the European Union defined "overcapacity" as production capacity that exceeds domestic demand, which is an extremely narrow definition. If countries produce only to meet the needs of their domestic markets, there will be no cross-border trade.

On the one hand, the United States accuses China's new energy industry of relying on government support to lead to overcapacity, while on the other hand, it continues to introduce industrial policies to support the development of its own new energy industry.

Wang Yong, a professor at Peking University's School of International Studies and director of the Center for American Studies, believes that through this dialogue, the United States should understand China's views on some issues, especially the unfair treatment of Chinese companies by the United States. There are many problems that may arise in China-US relations today, and dialogue will help to understand each other's situation and reduce miscalculations caused by suspicion.