Janet Yellen, senior China finance official discuss Beijing’s economic stimulus measures

US Treasury chief reiterates Washington’s concerns about industrial overcapacity and impact on American workers and firms

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US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has expressed discontent with China’s recent economic stimulus measures. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

Khushboo Razdanin WashingtonandAlyssa Chenin Hong Kong

Published: 5:48am, 26 Oct 2024Updated: 4:24pm, 26 Oct 2024

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and China’s deputy finance minister Liao Min met in Washington on Friday to discuss macroeconomic policy developments, including Beijing’s most ambitious stimulus measures since the coronavirus pandemic.

“The Chinese side focused on explaining China’s current macroeconomic situation and a raft of incremental policies that have recently been introduced, and expressed concerns over the US imposition of additional tariffs on China and sanctions related to Russia,” the Chinese Ministry of Finance said.

It also said there had been “in-depth, pragmatic, and constructive” talks on topics such as joint cooperation to help low-income countries cope with liquidity challenges and arrangements for future communications.

Yellen reiterated Washington’s concerns about China’s alleged industrial overcapacity and its impact on American workers and firms, according to the Treasury Department.

The talks came after China reported third-quarter growth of 4.6 per cent, the lowest quarterly figure since the same period last year.

Beijing is aiming for annual growth of “around 5 per cent” and has announced a raft of stimulus policies to help get there.

But earlier this week, Yellen criticised the lack of initiatives to boost consumer spending, saying she had not “really heard policy announcements on the Chinese side to address that in the way that I was hoping”.