EXCLUSIVE: The Chinese government has blocked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s recent speech on the US-China economic relationship from being viewed inside the country by disabling links to websites displaying her address, an official said American on Fox News Digital.
Yellen spoke at Johns Hopkins University about the bilateral relationship on April 20.
“The United States is moving forward with confidence in its long-term economic strength,” Yellen said in her speech. “We remain the largest and most dynamic economy in the world. We also remain steadfast in our conviction to defend our values and national security.”
“In this context, we seek a constructive and fair economic relationship with China,” he added.
Chinese hackers outnumber FBI cyber staff ’50-to-1 INITIALLY’, WRAY TESTIMONY
UNITED STATES – MARCH 16: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during the Senate Finance Committee hearing on the president’s fiscal year 2024 budget in the Dirksen Building on Thursday, March 16, 2023 . (Tom Williams)
A US official told Fox News Digital on Friday that WeChat, the Chinese instant messaging and social networking app, disabled the sharing option for posts made by the US Embassy in China related to the speech from Yellen.
The official said the US Embassy in China had posted a version of Yellen’s speech on its website, translated from English to Chinese. According to the official, WeChat blocked the embassy website and Treasury Department websites from opening within the app.
Another Chinese social media app, Weibo, also disabled links to the embassy’s website. The Department of Finance declined to comment.
US INTEL COMMUNITY WARNS OF ‘COMPLEX’ THREATS FROM CHINA, RUSSIA, NORTH KOREA
Yellen outlined the US approach to China, maintaining the importance of ensuring “our national security interests and those of our allies and partners” while protecting “human rights”.
“We will clearly communicate to the PRC our concerns about its behavior and will not hesitate to defend our vital interests,” Yellen said.
American and Chinese flags fly. February 2, 2022 (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
“As in all of our foreign relations, national security is of paramount importance in our relationship with China,” Yellen added. He said the Biden administration “has made it clear that safeguarding certain technologies of the PRC’s military and security apparatus is of vital national interest. .”
CHINA REVIEWS YELLEN, TELLS US TO “RAKE UP” ITS OWN DEBT
Yellen said the US is seeking a “healthy economic relationship with China – one that fosters growth and innovation in both countries.” But he warned that the United States will “continue to partner with our allies to respond to China’s unfair economic practices” and continue to “make critical investments at home” to advance America’s vision for “a vision open, fair and with rules”. global economic order based on
Yellen added that the United States is seeking “cooperation” with China on global challenges such as climate and “debt distress.”
Chinese officials have criticized Yellen’s remarks, saying the US is “generalizing the concept of national security” so that “no one dares to oppose it”. The officials also accused the US of wanting to “suppress China” and “disengage with China”.
GOP, DEM LAWMAKERS CALL FOR ‘WWII-STYLE’ MILITARY INVESTMENTS TO DETERRANT CHINA
Yellen and other senior officials in the Biden administration, including CIA Director Bill Burns and FBI Director Christopher Wray, have warned that China poses the greatest threat to US national security.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan is the latest administration official to sound the alarm about the threat from China.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, July 19, 2022. Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via REUTERS (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool via REUTERS)
Sullivan spoke at the Brookings Institute on Thursday and echoed Yellen’s comments.
“As Secretary Yellen said last week in her speech on this issue, we can defend our national security interests, have healthy economic competition and work together whenever possible, but China must be willing to his role,” Sullivan said Thursday.
Sullivan, pointing to Yellen’s remarks, said “economic engagement remains a critical part of the administration’s approach to managing the U.S.-China relationship.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“With her help, the president is leading the investment in innovation and American industries that positions us to continue with confidence as we compete,” Sullivan said.
Following President Biden’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in December, administration officials said diplomatic channels between Washington and Beijing could “potentially expand.” However, communication channels between the US and Chinese militaries have been closed since former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last summer.
