Janet Yellen - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

US, China need ‘tough’ conversations, Yellen tells Chinese premier

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised her concerns about China's excess industrial capacity with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, telling him that bilateral relations were now more stable because the two sides could have "tough" discussions. As they began a meeting in Beijing that ran 80 minutes, Li responded that the two countries needed to respect each other and should be partners, not adversaries, adding that "constructive progress" had been made during Yellen's trip. Yellen said Washington and Beijing had a "duty" to responsibly manage the complex relationship, "While we have more to do, I believe that, over the past year,…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Yellen says she discussed Russia sanctions in every stop on Africa tour

NEWS

ANDREA SHALAL U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she had discussed economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine at every stop on her Africa tour and she was hopeful an agreement on the next Russian oil price cap could be reached soon. Yellen is wrapping up a three-country visit to Africa that is aimed at deepening U.S. economic ties with the continent and countering China's long dominance of trade and lending with many African nations. In comments to reporters during a visit to the South African coal-mining province of Mpumalanga, Yellen said the United States was "in the middle of…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Analysis: Southern Africa calls the tune as great power suitors queue up

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

TIM COCKS and CARIEN DUPLESSIS SOUTH Africa and its neighbours were at the centre of a tussle for influence this week when top Russian and U.S. officials visited, offering a rare moment of leverage for governments on a continent more used to being buffeted by events than wooed. With a war in Europe pitting invading Russian forces against Ukraine's army supplied with Western arms, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen were both on the hunt for broader international support. For the countries of southern Africa, which maintain strong ideological and historical sympathies for Russia but…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Yellen welcomes South Africa’s energy transition, steers clear of Russia mention

NEWS

ANDREA SHALAL and KOPANO GUMBI U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen lauded South Africa's "bold" participation in an energy transition partnership backed by the United States and other Western nations but steered clear of mentioning U.S. concerns about Pretoria's planned military drills with China and Russia. She welcomed Godongwana's "cooperation and insightful views" in their previous discussions and said she would raise several issues, including Zambia's stalled sovereign debt restructuring effort, given South Africa's key role on the country's creditor committee. "The United States strongly values our relationship with South Africa," Yellen said in remarks that included no mention of Russia…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

China tells U.S. to fix its own debt problems after Yellen Africa remarks

WORLD

AFTER U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called China a "barrier" to debt reform in Africa this week, Chinese officials in Zambia had a pointed response - get your own house in order. The Chinese Embassy in Zambia said on its website Tuesday "the biggest contribution that the U.S. can make to the debt issues outside the country is to act on responsible monetary policies, cope with its own debt problem, and stop sabotaging other sovereign countries' active efforts to solve their debt issues."Advertisement · Scroll to continue Republicans in the House of Representatives are using a risky, unusual threat to refuse to…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

As Yellen woos Africa, sceptics ask ‘Is the U.S. here to stay?’

NEWS

ANDREA SHALAL and CARIEN DUPLESSIS U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's three-country trip to Africa - the leading edge of a new diplomatic push by the Biden administration - aims to show the continent the United States is a true partner, one here for the long haul. But after decades of losing ground to China and the tumult of the Donald Trump years, when the former president threatened to slash aid and roll back military support, it is a tough sell. As Africa struggles with economic headwinds caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and, notably, Washington's own monetary…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Yellen breaks ground on rural electrification project in Senegal

NEWS

ANDREA SHALAL U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen helped kick off a new rural electrification project in Senegal that will bring reliable power to 350,000 people while supporting some 500 jobs in 14 U.S. states. Yellen travelled to the site of the project, led by Illinois-based engineering firm Weldy Lamont, as part of a three-country trip to Africa that aims to expand U.S.-African ties and address challenges such as climate change, food security and debt. The new project received technical assistance from the U.S. Power Africa initiative, capacity building through the U.S. Agency for Trade and Development, and a $102.5 million loan guarantee…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Yellen, at former slave port, sees path of renewal for Africa and U.S.

NEWS

ANDREA SHALAL U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spoke of the "unspeakable cruelty" and enduring consequences of the trans-Atlantic slave trade but said she was heartened by signs of progress and renewal in both the United States and Africa. Yellen visited the House of Slaves, a fort built in the late 18th century on Goree Island off the coast of Senegal as a transit point for human beings before they were forcibly transported across the Atlantic, as she continued a three-country visit to Africa. "I take from this place the importance of redoubling our commitment to fight for our shared principles and the…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

What happens when women run the economy? We’re about to find out

BUSINESS

ANDREA SHALAL WOMEN now hold many of the jobs controlling the world's largest economy - and they're trying to fix it. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and trade czar Katherine Tai hold top jobs in U.S. President Joe Biden's administration and many of his economic advisers also are women, as are nearly 48% of his confirmed cabinet-level officials. This sea change may already be affecting economic policy - a new $2.3 trillion spending plan introduced by Biden last week includes $400 billion to fund the "care economy," supporting home- and community-based jobs taking care of kids and…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Biden names top economic advisers, setting state for more diverse White House

WORLD

SIMON LEWIS PRESIDENT-ELECT Joe Biden has unveiled his picks for several top economic positions, including former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as his nominee for Treasury Secretary, setting the stage for a more diverse White House. While Biden's transition to the White House appeared to be hitting its stride, the president-elect was hobbling after fracturing his foot while playing with his dog on Saturday. The incoming administration has been hampered for weeks by President Donald Trump who has refused to concede claiming, without evidence, that Biden's November 3 electoral victory was due to fraud. Biden named leading members of an…