Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen on Wednesday urged China to persuade Russia to end the war in Ukraine and warned that staying on the sidelines could jeopardize China’s position in the global economy.
She spoke amid growing frustration from the United States and its allies that China has refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Instead, the two countries have cemented a “special relationship.” The United States has watched with concern whether China will help Russia evade sanctions and stabilize its economy.
“In the future, it will become increasingly difficult to separate economic issues from broader considerations of national importance, including national security,” said Ms Yellen in a speech to the Atlantic Council, a think tank. “The world’s attitude toward China and its willingness to embrace further economic integration may well be influenced by China’s response to our call for decisive action against Russia.”
Ms Yellen added that Russia’s actions violated China’s long-standing public commitments to sovereignty and territorial integrity and called on China to use its influence over Russia to end the war.
Eswar Prasad, the former director of the International Monetary Fund for China, said the United States was trying to get China on the scene with Ms Yellen’s comments.
“The US is calling the Chinese government’s bluff by trying to get it from both sides, claiming to be a protector of the global governance system, while standing on the sidelines as that system is challenged by Russia’s naked aggression in Ukraine said Mr. D. Prasad, a professor of international trade policy at Cornell University.
Ms Yellen also said the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is casting a shadow over the global economy after two years of disruption from the pandemic, but she urged the United States and its allies to continue working together to confront Russia with grueling sanctions. .
“The war between Russia and Ukraine has redrawn the contours of the world’s economic prospects,” said Ms Yellen.
She spoke ahead of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings next week, when finance ministers from around the world will meet in Washington. After two years of supply chain shutdowns and disruptions, those officials are now being consumed by coordinating sanctions in an effort to cripple Russia’s economy while helping their own countries deal with soaring inflation.
In the speech, Ms Yellen mentioned countries such as China and India, which have continued to cooperate with Russia despite global opposition to the atrocities it committed in Ukraine.
The war between Russia and Ukraine and the world economy
“Now let me say a few words to those countries that are currently on the fence and may see an opportunity to win by preserving their relationship with Russia and filling the void left by others,” said Ms Yellen. “Such motivations are short-sighted.”
“And let’s be clear: the united coalition of sanctioned countries will not be indifferent to actions that undermine the sanctions we have imposed,” she continued.
The United States and its allies in Europe and Asia have imposed sanctions on Russia’s central bank, key financial institutions and the military supply chain. There is mounting pressure to impose sanctions on Russia’s energy industry, with some arguing that the United States should consider “secondary sanctions” against countries that fail to comply with the Biden administration restrictions on transactions. .
Referring to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, Ms. Yellen claimed that the United States had no intention of stopping in its attempt to strangle the Russian economy, saying, “Rest assured, until Putin ends his horrific choice war, he will the Biden administration will work with our partners to push Russia further toward economic, financial and strategic isolation.”
