U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday that she and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to launch exchanges on balanced economic growth, an effort partly aimed at addressing U.S. concerns about China's excess manufacturing capacity, APA reports citing Reuters.
After two days of economic talks in China's southern export hub of Guangzhou, Yellen said she and He also agreed to start a forum to cooperate on anti-money laundering efforts in their respective financial systems.
The exchanges "will facilitate a discussion around macroeconomic imbalances, including their connection to overcapacity, and I intend to use the opportunity to advocate for a level playing field for American workers and firms," Yellen said in a statement released at the conclusion of the talks.
She characterised the discussions as productive and frank. Coming into her four-day visit to China, her top priority was to persuade Chinese officials to rein in excess production capacity for electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and other clean energy technology that threaten competing firms in the U.S. and other countries.
Chinese state media pushed back on her excess capacity arguments, calling them a "pretext" for protectionist U.S. policies.
Such comments seek to undermine China's domestic growth and international cooperation, and Washington should focus on fostering innovation and competitiveness within its own borders instead of resorting to "fear-mongering," state news agency Xinhua said in an editorial late on Friday.
Yellen, He and their teams held over four and a half hours of meetings on Saturday on a range of topics, with U.S. concerns about China's growing exports of electric vehicles, solar panels and other goods the biggest priority for the Treasury chief.
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