Sawt Falasteen - Yellen to discuss US-China ties, global economic outlook in Beijing

Yellen's four-day trip is her first to China as Treasury chief, and she is the second high-ranking US official to visit the country after Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month.

Washington and Beijing have traded barbs over a host of issues including export controls, human rights and national security.

And China has stepped up its response to US curbs on its access to chips and, ahead of Yellen's trip, unveiled new export controls on metals key to semiconductor manufacturing.

But Beijing has struck an optimistic tone about Yellen's visit, with China's finance ministry saying Friday it would serve to "strengthen communication and exchange between the two countries".

"The nature of China-US economic and trade relations is mutually beneficial and win-win, and there is no winner in a trade war or 'decoupling and breaking chains'," an official said in a statement.

And in a tweet after arriving in Beijing on Thursday, Yellen said that although the United States would protect its national security when needed, "this trip presents an opportunity to communicate and avoid miscommunication or misunderstanding".

The United States does not expect specific policy breakthroughs over the next few days, but hopes for frank and productive conversations that can pave the way for future talks, a Treasury official told reporters.

But, they said, "especially if they're things that we may disagree about, it's even more important that we're talking."

- 'Healthy economic competition'-

On Friday, Yellen is due to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the Great Hall of the People, where she will have a chance to discuss the economic relationship, raise concerns and find opportunities for collaboration, the official added.

She will also meet her former counterpart -- ex-vice premier Liu He -- with whom she is set to trade views on the status of the US and Chinese economies, as well as on the international outlook.

Yellen is expected to see representatives of American firms in China as well, at a session hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce.

That session will allow her to hear about the challenges that US companies face while doing business in China, and she is expected to stress the concept of "healthy economic competition" that involves addressing what Washington deems unfair practices.

These include barriers to market access and actions targeting US firms.

And she faces an uphill struggle in persuading officials in Beijing that US actions -- such as tightened export curbs on high-end semiconductors -- are aimed at safeguarding national security and not as an attempt to stifle China's economic ascendancy.

Some analysts believe the move was targeted at countries that recently limited chip exports to China following requests from Washington.

Underscoring the further challenges Yellen could face, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US administration is mulling restricting Chinese firms' access to US cloud computing services provided by companies such as Amazon and Microsoft.

N.Awad--SF-PST