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Thread: U.S., China close out 'highly successful' economic talks

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[quote=MARRIE,296727]The U.S. and China, the world's two largest oil importers, also signed a 10-year "cooperation framework" on energy and environmental issues. They agreed to set up task forces to study ways to make tangible progress in electricity, clean air and water, and conservation programs.

But the Chinese offered no sign they intend to trim subsidies that encourage gasoline consumption for the country's legions of new drivers, as the U.S. urged. Paulson said the U.S. understood that subsidy cuts, which would raise pump prices, would be "difficult" for China to implement.

The Strategic Economic Dialogue process is closely identified with Paulson, who persuaded President Bush to launch the twice-yearly talks in 2006. The Treasury secretary has argued that the dialogue, scheduled to resume in December, should continue under a new administration. He was asked by a Chinese reporter whether a Democratic president would be likely to do so.

"If this SED produces tangible results that we wouldn't have otherwise achieved, then I'm an optimist that it will continue," he said.

The atmosphere for the U.S.-China talks was notably different than during December's third round, held in Beijing. Tensions over China's currency policy have eased somewhat, as the yuan has risen by more than 20% the past two years. That makes it easier for U.S. manufacturers to compete with China-made products.

Paulson said the U.S. "welcomed recent increased pace of appreciation of the (yuan) and urged China to continue to move to greater exchange-rate flexibility."

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