US, China agree to hold talks on 'balanced economic growth'

GUANGZHOU, China: The United States and China have agreed to hold “intensive exchanges on balanced growth”, the US Treasury Department said in a statement, after two days of talks between Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Guangzhou.

The planned talks mark the latest step forward in joint efforts to stabilise rocky ties between the world’s two leading economies since a meeting between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping last November.

“These exchanges will facilitate a discussion around macroeconomic imbalances, including their connection to overcapacity, and I intend to use this opportunity to advocate for a level playing field for American workers and firms,” said Yellen in a separate statement on Saturday.

Yellen’s visit to China — her second in the past year — comes as Washington and Beijing feud over everything from access to advanced technology, the self-ruled island of Taiwan and video app TikTok.

The US treasury secretary also warned of “significant consequences” if Chinese firms aid Russia, whose February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has not been condemned by Beijing.

“Secretary Yellen emphasized that companies, including those in the PRC, must not provide material support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, including support to the Russian defense industrial base, and the significant consequences if they do so,” the US Treasury said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.