Beijing Raises Concerns over Tariffs and Investment Curbs in Fifth Meeting o...

TMTPost -- The Chinese government highlights its severe concerns over trade disputes and U.S. curbs on China during the latest high-level meeting of the world’s leading economies.

Credit：CCTV

The China-U.S. Economic Working Group (EWG) held its fifth meeting on Thursday and Friday in Beijing, the Ministry of Finance of China said. That is the second EWG meeting held in China. The EWG is one of two working groups formed by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and U.S. Secretary Yellen last September.

The EWG meeting this week was co-chaired by Vice-Minister of Finance Liao Min and US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, reported state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), adding that Finance Minister Lan Fo'an briefly greeted the U.S. delegation.

Adhering to the consensus reached by the EWG leaders of China and U.S. during previous talks in San Francisco and Guangzhou, both sides conducted candid, pragmatic, and constructive communication on topics including macroeconomic conditions and policies, addressing global challenges, and issues of mutual concern, CCTV reported. It said China expressed serious concerns over U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, investment restrictions on China, sanctions related to Russia, and actions affecting the interests of Chinese enterprises. Both parties agreed to continue maintaining communication, the report added.

Chinese Vice Premier He with the U.S. delegation of EWG led by Jay Shambaugh, under secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, on Friday in Beijing, the state news agency Xinhua reported.

During the meeting, He noted that China and the United States should implement the important consensus reached between the two presidents at their San Francisco meeting and during a phone call in April this year, maintain economic communication and exchanges, strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination, properly handle each other's concerns on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and promote the steady and sound development of China-U.S. economic relations, according tot the report.

It is reported that Shambaugh told He the U.S. side is willing to maintain economic communication with China and develop healthy economic relations.

Over the two-day talks, both sides opened the discussions by exchanging views on policies that support balanced growth in the domestic and global economies, according to a readout of the U.S Department of the Treasury released Friday.

U.S. officials continued discussions related to issues of concerns raised during Secretary Yellen’s visit to China in April, including signs of increasing overcapacity in certain sectors of the Chinese economy, China’s non-market policies and practices and their impact on U.S. workers and firms, as well as Chinese firms’ support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to the readabout. The meeting sessions concluded with the two sides sharing views on domestic macroeconomic outlooks and discussions on areas of cooperation, including debt issues and financing challenges in emerging and developing economies, the Treasury said in the press.

The Treasury also disclosed the meeting between the U.S. delegation and Vice Premier He. It said the U.S. side emphasized that Secretary Yellen is pleased with the role the EWG plays in maintaining stability in the bilateral economic relationship by providing a resilient channel of communications on both areas of concern and areas for further cooperation.