US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during a bilateral meeting ahead of the US-hosted APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit in San Francisco, California, USA on November 9, 2023.
Carlos Baria | Reuters
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on Pacific Rim finance ministers on Monday to boost the productivity of their economies while working to finance the transition to low-carbon energy and provide more opportunities for the poor.
Inaugurating the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation finance ministers’ meeting, Yellen said the group’s economic dynamism and their actions to address global challenges are critical.
Yellen said in prepared remarks that the 21 APEC economies should work together to achieve the goals of building an „open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community” for the 2023 US hosting year.
A day later to the APEC Secretariat Released new predictions Yellen said the group needed to increase potential output in order to slow growth next year amid continued inflation struggles and U.S.-China tensions.
„We must further improve our long-term economic outlook by encouraging labor supply, innovation and infrastructure investment in ways that are more sustainable and reduce inequality,” Yellen said.
„We must commit ourselves to a sustainable growth path, protecting our planet while providing the clean energy our economy needs to grow. And using emerging technologies to drive innovation while maintaining safe financial markets,” Yellen added. .
The APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting comes ahead of this weekend’s APEC Leaders’ Summit. High level meeting The meeting between US-President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping was aimed at easing tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Yellen agreed with her Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, on Friday „Intensify Communication”As Beijing’s new economic czar warns of crackdown on Chinese aiding Russia’s Ukraine war effort.
The agenda for the meeting includes bringing more workers into APEC country workforces, investments in infrastructure and research, and mobilizing resources to accelerate net-zero emissions goals. Yellen said Just energy transition partnerships For Vietnam and Indonesia, financing from G7 countries, multilateral development banks and private sector investors are key examples of this work.
The meeting will also include discussions on developing carbon markets and the Treasury’s priorities for financial institutions. Net-zero commitments That would require their debt and investments to be aligned with the goals of limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Yellen is scheduled to hold a final news conference on Monday evening.