"The world's attitude towards China, and its willingness to embrace deeper economic integration, may well be affected by China's reaction to our call for resolute action against Russia," the minister warned. Economy and Finance by Joe Biden, in a speech to the Atlantic Council, an American think tank.

"The war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia highlight the central role of China," said the Treasury Secretary.

Beijing remained a Moscow partner despite the invasion of Ukraine.

"China has recently affirmed its special relationship with Russia. I fervently hope that China will make something positive of this relationship and help end this war," said Yellen.

And warn the Asian giant that "in the future, it will be increasingly difficult to separate economic issues wider national interest considerations, including national security."

The minister, more broadly, lambasted the countries and companies that have not severed their commercial ties with Russia, stressing that these countries undoubtedly hope "to fill the void left by the others by preserving their relations with Russia. This kind of motivations does not last in the long term".

The United States and its Western allies have taken several rounds of economic and financial sanctions against Russia, including asset freezes and transaction bans against major Russian banks.

These measures must force "the Kremlin to choose between supporting its economy and financing the continuation of (Vladimir) Putin's brutal war", recalled Janet Yellen.

Reform international institutions

The Treasury Secretary also called for reform of major global economic institutions, saying the war in Ukraine demonstrated the need to evolve organizations like the International Monetary Fund.

"We need to modernize our existing institutions - the IMF and the multilateral development banks - to make them fit for the 21st century, where challenges and risks are increasingly global," she said, at five days of the start of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, which will again take place in hybrid mode.

Ms. Yellen notably called for looking at "the governance of the institution, to ensure that it reflects both the current global economy and members' commitments to the underlying principles and objectives of the IMF".

"I do not think it is necessary to invent a whole new financial architecture. But we must enable these institutions to meet the challenges of modern times", she then specified during a session of questions and answers.

"Some may say that now is not the time to think big," admitted the minister.

"But I think now is a good time to fix the flaws in our international financial system, which are causing us problems in real time."

Beyond the situation in Ukraine, next week's meetings will also focus on vaccine deliveries, the fight against global warming and support for low-income countries, said Janet Yellen.

© 2022 AFP