American banks and regulators and consumers were the ones who created the global crisis and instead of thanking China for its help in holding on to Treasuries, they like to lecture lecture lecture
Americans need to have their mouths stitched up, they talk too much
China 'must open up to end global crisis'
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BEIJING - US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke on Wednesday said China could play a pivotal role in bringing an end to the global economic crisis by further opening its domestic markets and easing currency controls.
China's control of its yuan currency has long been a source of friction between the two countries, with the United States arguing Beijing keeps the rate artificially low to protect its crucial export sector.
Mr Locke's comments come as he and US Energy Secretary Steven Chu kicked off a three-day visit to China aimed at co-operation in the clean energy sector between the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.
'If China allowed for greater flexibility in its exchange rate and further opened up its domestic markets for imports and foreign direct investment, it would accelerate the world's return to growth,' Mr Locke told a business lunch.
The United States also believes the controls prevent US exporters from getting access to China's huge domestic market.
'For all our areas of agreement, the United States and China's trade relationship has to evolve. There are concerns and deep structural issues to be addressed,' he said.
He added that one of the main issues was a bilateral trade imbalance 'that simply can't be sustained'.
'Growth predicated on ever increasing Chinese exports being consumed by debt-laden Americans provided years of prosperity - but it also sowed some of the seeds for our current economic problems,' he told the lunch.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made a similar call for greater currency flexibility during a visit to Beijing last month.
Mr Locke and Mr Chu were due to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for talks focused on clean energy and climate change during their visit.
'Widespread deployment of energy efficiency and clean energy technologies is... the only way our economies can continue to grow while preventing the catastrophic effects of climate change,' he said.
Mr Locke and Mr Chu are the latest high level officials to visit China to discuss the issue of climate change, ahead of crucial international talks on the issue later this year.
More than 180 nations are working towards a new climate agreement at a December meeting in Copenhagen to cover the period after 2012, when the existing Kyoto Protocol expires. -- AFP
Americans need to have their mouths stitched up, they talk too much
China 'must open up to end global crisis'
Email this article
Print article
Feedback
BEIJING - US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke on Wednesday said China could play a pivotal role in bringing an end to the global economic crisis by further opening its domestic markets and easing currency controls.
China's control of its yuan currency has long been a source of friction between the two countries, with the United States arguing Beijing keeps the rate artificially low to protect its crucial export sector.
Mr Locke's comments come as he and US Energy Secretary Steven Chu kicked off a three-day visit to China aimed at co-operation in the clean energy sector between the world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.
'If China allowed for greater flexibility in its exchange rate and further opened up its domestic markets for imports and foreign direct investment, it would accelerate the world's return to growth,' Mr Locke told a business lunch.
The United States also believes the controls prevent US exporters from getting access to China's huge domestic market.
'For all our areas of agreement, the United States and China's trade relationship has to evolve. There are concerns and deep structural issues to be addressed,' he said.
He added that one of the main issues was a bilateral trade imbalance 'that simply can't be sustained'.
'Growth predicated on ever increasing Chinese exports being consumed by debt-laden Americans provided years of prosperity - but it also sowed some of the seeds for our current economic problems,' he told the lunch.
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner made a similar call for greater currency flexibility during a visit to Beijing last month.
Mr Locke and Mr Chu were due to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for talks focused on clean energy and climate change during their visit.
'Widespread deployment of energy efficiency and clean energy technologies is... the only way our economies can continue to grow while preventing the catastrophic effects of climate change,' he said.
Mr Locke and Mr Chu are the latest high level officials to visit China to discuss the issue of climate change, ahead of crucial international talks on the issue later this year.
More than 180 nations are working towards a new climate agreement at a December meeting in Copenhagen to cover the period after 2012, when the existing Kyoto Protocol expires. -- AFP
