On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the US would be ready to use sanctions similar to what has been imposed on Russia against China if Beijing were to invade Taiwan.
Yellen told the House Financial Services Committee that she believes the US has shown it can impose significant economic pain. “I think you should not doubt our ability and resolve to do the same in other situations,” she said.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman also testified before the Committee and warned that the US would impose harsh sanctions on China if it helped Russia in its war in Ukraine. “It gives President Xi, I think, a pretty good understanding of what might come his way should he, in fact, support Putin in any material fashion,” she said.
China has strongly denied US claims that it was considering giving Russia military support. Last month, US officials told media outlets that Moscow had asked Beijing for help. But US officials told NBC News this week that the claim “lacked hard evidence.”
US officials have also warned that Washington would take action against Beijing if it helped Russia avoid Western sanctions.
Over the past few years, the US has imposed a series of sanctions and export controls against Beijing, but they have not been as harsh as what Russia is facing. While Washington is warning Beijing it could impose tougher sanctions, such measures could do serious damage to the US economy since it is so intertwined with China’s.
For now, Yellen said that the US shouldn’t sanction China for its relationship with Russia. “We would be very concerned if they were to supply weapons to Russia, or to try to evade the sanctions that we’ve put in place on the Russian financial system and the central bank,” she said. “We don’t see that happening at this point.”
At least we can take them down with us, that’s all that matters, right?
You have a nice ‘group think’ attitude…
Just letting Tawain know we are willing to fight China to the last Taiwanese just like we are doing with the Ukrainians in Ukraine.
It is a stratagem of sorts… Yet, I do not think we are masters in such an instance. We are a bit more feeble. Stumble as you go, type of deal, but hope for the best…
I’m not sure this is the right time to suggest it but… Does anyone think that Janet Yellen is a sadist?….
The entire bureaucracy talk like they are Generals.
Another word, We, US are ready to kill ourselves by sanctioning China similar to Russia…!
The US acts like a global Sheriff/Bully and it makes us look completely ineffective.
So the suggested trade is whatever of China’s foreign reserves that can be seized by the US in exchange for Taiwan?
I don’t regard Janet Yellen as an authority on what Biden would or would not do. But it is becoming clear that US attempts to destroy the ruble have backfired. While China cannot fall back on the sales of energy products, they have trade weapons that are so formidable that I don’t even want to mention them here.
I think it’s just a matter of weeks before the man on the street realizes how severe the cost we will have to pay for the sanctions against Russia. If and when that happens, the chest thumping will be replaced by hand wringing.
A full-blown trade war with China could throw us into another Great Depression. And as we suffer, China has enormous potential in their domestic economy to fall back upon.
“US Warns China Would Face Sanctions … for Invading Taiwan”
but everything that we buy will still have a Made In China label on it
Might be a good idea not to bait the Chinese government on this issue. Especially now.
Gotta love how warcrimes R US, NEVER SEEMS TO GET SANCTIONED!!!!!!!
Which of course would bury the US even faster than the existing sanctions on Russia are doing. By all means, bring it on!