Beyond decoupling and de-risking: Yellen’s visit puts a more positive spin on Sino-American ties

IT HAS become a pattern of sorts in the management of American geo-economic policy, the notion that while its commerce secretaries and the US trade representatives (USTR) over the years fight aggressively to defend the nation’s economic interests, the treasury secretaries try to ensure that Washington’s trade and investment relationship with other economies remains stable and open.

To put it differently, from the perspective of the commerce secretaries and trade representatives, maintaining the US industrial base and protecting the interests of its businesses and workers are seen as the central goals.

But for treasury secretaries such as Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers (under former president Bill Clinton) or Steven Munchin (under former president Donald Trump) it is the health of the global economy and the US position in it that matter most.