While a viral video showing her bowing repeatedly to her CCP counterpart in Beijing triggered eyebrows to rise at home, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called her official visit to China “successful” on CBS News’s “Face the Nation” this week.
“Never, never, never…A representative of America doesn’t bow.” The unsightly procedural blunder, according to Bradley Blakeman, a former senior employee in George W. Bush’s White House, “appears like she has been called into the principal’s office, and the Chinese adore such optics.”
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, Sec. Yellen’s counterpart approached her in the video and extends his hand like he wants to shake hands.
Yellen extends her own hand in exchange for the gesture. The incident started out awkwardly as the two people shook hands and softly clasp them. She bowed not once, not twice, but three times as she shook his hand. Cameras flash as a woman holding two bags and wearing a mask approaches Yellen from behind, maybe attempting to direct her. He maintains the handshake the entire time as he stands erect and steps back.
The “Face the Nation” anchor Margaret Brennan presented the tape in an interview with Yellen before she departed Beijing, but she just made a passing reference to it. It was described by Brennan as “one of those awkward moments,” and she compared it to her remark of worries concerning Chinese surveillance balloons.
“My visit was really beneficial. I was warmly welcomed and had meaningful discussions on the state of the world economy, changes in our own economies, financial markets in general, and a list of issues that each of us brought up that were important to us and we decided to follow up on in the future.”
The United States must not make concessions on national security matters, according to Yellen, “even if this harms our very own narrow economic interests.” She continued by saying that the United States would make sure its actions were “transparent, only slightly targeted, and well-explained” when they had an impact on China’s economy.
Yellen said that she had “expressed concerns” about China’s conduct, calling it “potentially” punitive, in response to the question of whether Beijing was firing a warning shot by blocking shipments of crucial minerals necessary for computer chips.
“My goal is to prevent us from taking a series of unintended, escalated actions that would be detrimental to our overall economic relationship.”
She said that partly as a result of COVID, top officials, and regular residents from the two nations had “very little contact” during the last few years and that this lack of communication might result in misconceptions.
“I do believe that my trip proved to be successful in establishing those connections and providing the chance for a deeper set of increased contacts at our staff levels,” Yellen concluded.
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