Treasury Secretary Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier Liu to Meet Amid Competition for African Influence

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen presides over the unveiling of the first U.S. banknotes printed with two women's signatures at an event in Fort Worth, Texas on Dec. 8, 2022. Shelby Tauber/Reuters

Officials from the United States and communist China will meet in Switzerland this week to discuss economic development and work to increase communication between the two nations on economic issues.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Zurich on Jan. 18 as part of an attempt to ease tensions between the two nations. The move follows a November pledge by U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping to work to improve ties amid heightened tensions.

The meeting also highlights a growing competition for influence between the United States and the CCP regime in Africa. Yellen is to visit three African nations immediately after the meeting, and the CCP’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, is just coming off of his own tour of Africa.

The CCP has been ramping up investments into the development of Africa for the last several decades and China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for over 10 years, though African leaders still desire better trade relations with the United States.

Yellen is the first member of the Biden administration to commit to an African tour, and her visit follows a December pledge by Biden that the United States would invest $15 billion in two-way trade and investment deals in the continent.

Yellen said during an NPR interview last week that China had played “a leading role” in lending to and trading with African nations, but that African leaders had made clear that they were seeking more U.S. engagement.

“It’s clear that they want to expand trade and investment with many parts of the world and see the United States as a critical partner in that growth,” Yellen said. “And that’s something that’s important to us as well.”

Communist China is now the world’s largest creditor and Chinese trade with Africa is about four times that of the United States. The regime has become an important creditor in Africa by offering cheaper loans than Western nations, albeit with opaque terms and collateral requirements.

Yellen has repeatedly criticized the CCP for its failure or delay in restructuring the debt of poor countries in Africa.

The situation has resulted in many countries in Africa, including Zambia, which Yellen is set to visit, having soured on Chinese lending and looking for alternatives.

To that end, the United States appears more than ready to offer just such an alternative, and the $15 billion promised by Biden will include significant investments and trade partnerships in addition to the more typical humanitarian and security assistance.

“We believe that Africa’s growth will be a key driver of global growth over the coming decades,” a senior Treasury official said.

“U.S. companies investing in Africa means jobs and opportunities for a growing middle class, and new markets and customers for American firms.”

Yellen’s meeting with Liu is expected to touch on the debt issue and other significant differences between the two nations.

Liu is in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, which Yellen does not plan to attend, though other senior U.S. officials will be there.

Reuters contributed to this report.