Janet Yellen, president-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for treasury secretary, on Tuesday called China the “most important strategic competitor” for the United States and promised to counter its abuses.
Ms Yellen, the first woman nominee for the post, highlighted the China challenge in a Senate finance committee hearing to confirm her nomination.
“China is clearly our most important strategic competitor,” she said, accusing Beijing of "undercutting American companies by dumping products, erecting trade barriers and giving illegal subsidies to corporations.
“It's been stealing intellectual property…is guilty of horrendous human rights abuses” Ms Yellen told senators at the hearing.
But unlike President Donald Trump, Ms Yellen said that Mr Biden is proposing an “array of options” in dealing with the China threat that would primarily focus on rebuilding alliances.
On trade specifically, Ms Yellen pointed to a pivot that will occur under the Biden administration. "I believe we should try to address unfair trade practices and the best way to do that is to work with our allies rather than unilaterally.”
In contrast, Mr Trump practised some of the most hawkish and isolationist trade policies in recent history. Under Mr Trump, the US clashed with allies in Europe, Canada, Japan, Mexico and the Middle East by imposing tariffs on exports such as steel and cars.
Mr Trump also withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, renegotiated NAFTA and entered a trade war with China.
Addressing the pandemic, Ms Yellen urged senators to "act big" by agreeing to Mr Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan. Such stimulus, she said, "creates more prosperity for more people and ensures that American workers can compete in an increasingly competitive global economy," she said.
“Neither the president-elect nor I propose this relief package without an appreciation for the country’s debt burden. But right now, with interest rates at historic lows, the smartest thing we can do is act big,” she stated. “I believe the benefits will far outweigh the costs, especially if we care about helping people who have been struggling for a very long time.”
Without further action, she said, the US would “risk a longer, more painful recession now and longer-term scarring of the economy later.”
As to corporate taxes, the nominee said the US could afford a higher corporate tax rate if it co-ordinates with other countries.
“We look forward to actively working with other countries through negotiations on taxes on multinational corporations to try to stop what has been a destructive, global race to the bottom on corporate taxation,” she said.
“We would assure the competitiveness of American corporations even with a somewhat higher corporate tax,” Ms Yellen added.
Despite pushback from Republicans on spending, Ms Yellen, who was also the first woman to chair the Federal Reserve, is expected to be confirmed in the position by the Senate.
