The China-U.S. economic working group met for the seventh time on Monday in Johannesburg, South Africa‘s largest city and the capital of Gauteng province, to engage in candid and constructive discussions about macroeconomic policies and global challenges.
The talks focused primarily on enhancing cooperation to support low-income countries grappling with liquidity issues and advancing governance reforms in multilateral development banks, according to China’s Finance Ministry.
The Chinese delegation also clarified its stance on economic and trade matters, expressing concerns over recent U.S. economic and trade restrictions on China, the ministry said.
These discussions come after remarks by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who urged the next U.S. administration to maintain the dialogue channels she had re-established with China, stressing the importance of communication between the world’s two largest economies.
Yellen emphasized that these communication channels are crucial for addressing shared concerns, such as global financial stability, while also providing the U.S. an opportunity to raise issues like China’s macroeconomic imbalances, industrial overcapacity, and its firms’ support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The meetings also serve as a platform to explain U.S. policies and prevent misunderstandings that could exacerbate tensions.