China and US hold first financial group meeting, will ‘deepen economic relationship’, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says
- Financial group meeting on Wednesday followed first Economic Working Group meeting on Tuesday as part of efforts to foster regular communications
- US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said the US and China ‘have had a set of very constructive and deepening discussions about areas of mutual concern’
Senior finance officials from China and the United States had “professional, pragmatic, candid and constructive” discussions over financial stability, supervision and regulation at the first meeting of a new financial group this week.
The discussions were “professional, pragmatic, candid and constructive”, the statement added, and both sides agreed to continue to communicate as the world’s two largest economies step up efforts to ease tensions.
The meeting was co-hosted by deputy ministerial-level officials from the PBOC and the US Department of the Treasury.
It was attended by China’s National Administration of Financial Regulation, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the US Federal Reserve, the US Securities and Exchange Commission and other relevant financial regulatory authorities, the PBOC statement added.
On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury said that it also “frankly raised areas of disagreement” during the two-hour virtual meeting.
Both working groups report directly to China’s Vice-Premier He Lifeng and Yellen.
Yellen told Bloomberg News on Thursday that the US relationship with China is now in a more positive place after a “dangerous” period of little contact between senior officials for about two years.
We certainly will deepen our economic relationship and discussions. I am very feeling good about how things are going there
“We now have had a set of very constructive and deepening discussions about areas of mutual concern,” said Yellen.
“Channels of communications when a problem arises, each side can pick up the phone and can discuss it before it rises to the level of really serious disagreement.
“So I think this agenda is working, we certainly will deepen our economic relationship and discussions. I am feeling very good about how things are going there.”
Yellen added she had also made it clear to China that the US intended to have “healthy competition and mutually beneficial trade and investments in many areas”, while stressing that the two sides need to work on global problems, including climate change and debt relief.
