Yellen, China's Liu agree to enhance communication after 'frank exchange' - U.S. Treasury - Reuters

ZURICH, Jan 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen agreed with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to heighten connection astir macroeconomic and fiscal issues during a "candid, substantive, and constructive" gathering successful Zurich connected Wednesday, the Treasury said.

In a statement, the Treasury said some sides agreed to heighten practice connected clime concern connected a bilateral and multilateral basis, specified arsenic wrong the United Nations, Group of 20 economies and APEC.

"While we person areas of disagreement, and we volition convey them directly, we should not let misunderstandings, peculiarly those stemming from a deficiency of communication, to unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economical and fiscal relationship," Yellen said astatine the commencement of the meeting.

Liu said some countries request "serious communication" and coordination connected issues including clime alteration and the economy, and that helium was acceptable for an in-depth exchange.

"We bash judge that we person to ever carnivore successful caput the bigger picture, effort to negociate our differences appropriately and question communal ground," Liu said, speaking done an interpreter. "In this way, hopefully we tin enactment unneurotic to support the wide stableness of Chinese-U.S. relations."

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to summation connection erstwhile they met successful Indonesia successful November.

"Both sides agreed it is important for the functioning of the planetary system to further heighten connection astir macroeconomic and fiscal issues," the Treasury said aft Yellen and Liu met.

"Secretary Yellen besides raised issues of interest successful a frank speech of views," it added. "She looks guardant to travelling to China and to welcoming her counterparts to the United States successful the adjacent future."

A elder Treasury authoritative said that, during the meeting, which lasted astir 3 hours, Yellen and Liu agreed that some countries could instrumentality steps to avert recessions successful their ain economies, and the 2 delegations had a productive treatment astir sovereign indebtedness issues, nutrient information and energy.

On economical prospects, Chinese officials were alert of fiscal risks posed by the spot assemblage but were optimistic astir resuming person to mean growth, the authoritative said of the meeting, the archetypal successful idiosyncratic since Yellen became secretary.

The China broadside expressed interest implicit U.S. economic, commercialized and technological policies towards China and its anticipation that the U.S. volition wage attraction to however specified policies were affecting some countries, China's Ministry of Commerce said successful a statement.

"China welcomes Yellen to sojourn China astatine an due clip this year. Both countries agreed that their economical and commercialized teams volition proceed to support communications and exchanges astatine each levels," it said.

Washington successful October imposed export controls connected China to dilatory Beijing's technological and subject advances, including measures to curb China's entree to U.S. chipmaking tools and chopped it disconnected from definite chips made anyplace successful the satellite with American equipment.

EXPANDING COOPERATION

Liu, a confidant of Xi, connected Tuesday urged planetary leaders gathered successful Davos for the World Economic Forum to wantonness what helium called a "Cold War mentality" and expand planetary cooperation connected issues specified arsenic clime change.

Yellen and different apical U.S. officials accidental the U.S. system should beryllium capable to skip a recession successful 2023, but admit slower maturation is likely.

China's economical maturation looks acceptable to rebound from mid-2023 pursuing relaxed COVID-19 curbs aft slumping to 1 of its worst levels successful astir fractional a century.

The IMF has warned against decoupling the planetary economy into 2 competing blocs, saying it could trim planetary economical output by up to 7%, and adjacent much successful susceptible countries.

Yellen's gathering with Liu came earlier a three-country visit to Africa, wherever she volition propulsion to grow U.S. commercialized and concern ties with the continent, which China has agelong dominated.

She is besides expected to repetition her disapproval of Beijing - present the world's largest creditor - for not moving much rapidly to supply debt relief, arsenic good arsenic its usage of forced labour successful China's Xinjiang portion and "non-market" economical practices.

Yellen has met virtually 3 times with Liu since taking office, and met successful Bali, Indonesia, with Chinese cardinal slope politician Yi Gang. Liu volition measurement down this twelvemonth arsenic portion of an overhaul of China's economical enactment disclosed successful September.

In December, Yellen told reporters she was besides unfastened to visiting China and looked guardant to much "intense interactions" with Chinese officials.

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Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Josie Kao, Nick Macfie, Jan Harvey and Jonathan Oatis

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