Yellen 'probably done' when Biden ends term, may meet Chinese counterpart soon

By David Lawder

(Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday that she is "probably done" serving at the highest levels of government after President Joe Biden's term ends in January, but will likely meet again soon with her Chinese counterpart.

Asked at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Texas whether she was "done" when a new administration takes over in January, or might continue in her job or take on a new administration role, Yellen said: "Probably done, but ... we'll see."

The comments are the closest that Yellen, 78, has come to announcing her future plans as the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump heats up. Yellen has been the first woman to serve as Treasury Secretary, Federal Reserve Chair and director of the White House National Economic Council.

Yellen told the event in Austin that she still has a lot of work to do at Treasury in coming months, including another likely meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, her Beijing counterpart, to try to manage an often tense relationship.

The two met in April in Beijing, where Yellen warned China to rein in excess industrial capacity ahead of Biden's decision to impose steep tariff increases on Chinese-made electric vehicles, batteries, solar products and semiconductors.

Yellen said she would welcome a visit to the U.S. but also may return to China herself, adding: "My guess is that we will have, one way or another, a visit."

The Treasury's top economic diplomat, Undersecretary Jay Shambaugh, will lead a delegation to Beijing "very soon" to discuss economic issues. Shambaugh leads a U.S.-China economic working group that has made addressing China's excess factory production a top issue

Yellen said the U.S.-China relationship "needs to be prioritized and nurtured" by the next U.S. administration, with discussions at the highest levels and among agency staffs.

"We have enough differences and without a chance to discuss them and put them in context, it's certainly possible for tensions to rise," Yellen said. "So this is something that really requires ongoing attention. I hope that it would get it."

'SOLID ECONOMY'

Yellen also said the U.S. economy has largely reached a "soft landing" with lower inflation after U.S. August jobs data on Friday showed a slight decline in the unemployment rate despite slower hiring.

"When you see pace of job creation diminishing over time, what I love to see is that it stabilizes roughly where it is now, and we have to be careful to make sure that it's not going to weaken further," Yellen said.

She said consumer spending remains "quite solid" and while there is "less frenzy" in hiring, there are not meaningful layoffs

"I'm attentive to downside risks now on the employment side, but I what I think we're seeing, we will continue to see, is a good, solid economy," Yellen said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio)