US Financial Officials Head to China After Leaders’ Policy Meet

Senior US and Chinese economic officials will meet for discussions in Shanghai this week, in their first sit-down since China’s leaders laid out their longer-term economic priorities at a twice-a-decade conference.

The talks of the so-called Financial Working Group, due to take place on Aug. 15-16, will focus on topics including macroeconomic and financial stability, governance of the International Monetary Fund and capital markets issues., according to a Treasury spokesperson. 

The US delegation will be made up of officials from the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission. Among those attending will be Nellie Liang, one of the Treasury’s undersecretaries and an expert on financial stability during her previous career at the Fed.

Among the topics this week: swap arrangements involving the People’s Bank of China. China’s central bank has entered a raft of agreements with other emerging and developed market countries over time, part of a broader venture to promote an international role for the yuan. 

The Fed also maintains a handful of swap lines, though not with China. A Treasury spokesperson said there is no plan to discuss any arrangement between the US and China.

The meetings are part of an effort by the Biden administration to maintain channels of communication with its key geopolitical rival, especially on shared challenges, while also pursuing policies to protect national security. The upcoming session follows the so-called Third Plenum meeting of China’s Communist Party, which laid out longer-term economic goals.

This latest round of talks comes amid heightened trade tensions between the US and China, with Washington raising concerns over China’s export-oriented industrial policy. 

“We intend for this FWG meeting to include conversations on financial stability, issues related to cross-border data, lending, and payments, private sector efforts to advance transition finance, and concrete steps we can take to improve communication in the event of financial stress,” said Assistant Secretary for International Finance Brent Neiman, who co-leads the group with his Chinese counterpart.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has met with her counterpart, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, three times since last July — twice in Beijng and once in San Franscisco.

The two countries agreed to set up two working groups to discuss economic and financial issues last September, shortly after Yellen’s first visit to China in her current role.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.