After a long day of berating the Chinese government about overcapacity in their economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng for a boat cruise on the Pearl River on Friday evening in the southern megacity of Guangzhou.
On board, the pair exchanged gifts, according to two people present. The vice premier told Yellen he personally chose his offering — a large platter upon which a Chinese artist had replicated her official portrait. Yellen reciprocated with an artist-signed painting of the U.S. capital’s famous cherry blossoms and the Washington Monument.
The contrast between the day’s tough rhetoric and evening bonhomie showed the gamut of Yellen’s diplomatic task as she makes her second China trip in nine months, and likely her final visit to the country as Treasury secretary. She was welcomed by Premier Li Qiang in Beijing on Sunday, and will meet central bank Gov. Pan Gongsheng on Monday before wrapping up with a news conference.