U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday in Seoul that the United States is going to prevent countries with “dictatorial policies,” such as China, from gaining dominance over certain resources and products and advocated stronger economic cooperation with South Korea.

During a visit to South Korea, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States wants to end its unwarranted dependence on rare-earth metals, solar panels and other goods from China.

She explained that such a dependence would be dangerous if Beijing decided to stop supplying. She also noted that she is pushing for more trade ties with South Korea.

According to the minister, this would increase the sustainability of supply chains, and prevent possible manipulation by geopolitical rivals and security threats.

Janet Yellen said the U.S. is diversifying its supply chains so that it only relies on reliable partners. This will help combat inflation and China’s trade practices, which she called “unfair.

Yellen noted that South Korea has enormous advantages regarding resources, technology and capabilities, and that its companies are investing in the U.S. She also attributed an important role to semiconductor manufacturing.

The Minister recalled that earlier Beijing had stopped supplies to Japan and had tried to put pressure on Australia and Lithuania. The USA didn’t approve of such behavior.

At the same time, Janet Yellen admitted that China listened to the USA’s concerns in other areas. 

She said that the United States had real concerns about China, but urged it not to create a picture of escalating hostilities with China.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen threatened violators of the “world economic order

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a speech in Seoul that Russia is using economic integration “as a weapon” and threatened harsh consequences for those countries that violate the global economic order.

Yellen indicated that Washington was going to expand trade ties with South Korea and other reliable allies to improve supply security and avoid “possible manipulation by geopolitical rivals.” However, she did not specify which rivals she was referring to.

Before that, the U.S. threatened China with consequences because of possible circumvention of sanctions against Russia or provision of arms to it.

– We have publicly voiced the message that providing arms or any assistance from China to circumvent Russia’s unprecedented sanctions, export controls, or other financial measures imposed against Moscow would be very costly. Not just on the U.S. side, we are working with dozens of countries around the world,” said Ned Price, the head of the State Department press office.

South Korea is Ready to Participate in Measures to Restrict Russian Oil Prices

Chu Gen-ho, South Korea’s deputy prime minister for economics and part-time minister of strategy and finance, said in a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday that the country is ready to join measures to curb the price of Russian oil, Renhap news agency reported.

Yellen is visiting Seoul on July 19-20. She also met with President Yoon Seok-El and is scheduled to meet with Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-Yong.

During her meeting with Chu Gen-ho, she reiterated the need for a price cap on Russian oil and asked South Korea to get involved.

“We are sympathetic to the goal of imposing (a restriction on the price of Russian oil – ed) and are ready to join it. The oil price restriction should be effectively designed to contribute to the stability of international oil prices and consumer prices,” Chu Gen Ho responded.

The head of the U.S. Treasury Department thanked the South Korean side for its understanding and looked forward to Seoul’s participation in developing a concrete cap system.

Also, the two sides agreed on the importance of strategic economic cooperation between South Korea and the United States in a difficult environment, including amid supply chain disruptions, soaring inflation and commodity prices due to the Ukraine crisis, and financial market volatility. Cooperation in clean energy, climate change, and health care was also discussed.