China-US trade talks are set to resume as Liu He, vice premier of China, landed in Washington on Tuesday, according to May 16 state media report. The meeting came after a US delegation, led by Steven Mnuchin, went to Beijing two weeks ago to negotiate a trade deal between the two countries.
Liu, who is also president Xi Jinping’s special envoy, is joined by high ranking Chinese officials in the US capital, including Yi Gang, the governor of the People’s Bank of China, Ning Jizhe, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, and Zhu Guangyao, vice finance minister.
The two sides had not made any formal announcements following the initial meetings, but multiple media reports said on Thursday that China had offered the US a $200bn reduction in its trade surplus.
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Xi has reiterated China’s determination to open up its economy and urged other countries to resist isolationism, state media reported on May 16.
“China will firmly support multilateralism, safeguard the multilateral trading system and strive to build an open world economy,” he said.
The Chinese leader made the comments during a meeting with Ban Ki-Moon, chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia and former secretary-general at the United Nations.
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Before he boarded the flight to the US earlier this week, vice premier Liu issued a warning to speculators in China and stressed the need to prevent systemic financial risk at a May 15 policy conference in Beijing, according to Xinhua.
“People should understand that capital is needed to start a business, money borrowed must be paid back, and there are risks in investment and prices to pay for wrongdoing,” Liu said. “Maintaining a prudent and neutral monetary policy should be combined with a rigid regulatory policy to promote high-quality development.”
The theme of risk prevention also featured at a conference held by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on Monday.
While some banks and insurance companies are turning their focus from fast-paced growth to high-quality development, there is still a lack of attention among most participants, according to a May 14 summary of the meeting.
The banking and insurance watchdog will keep up the pressure on those who break the rules, and ensure that banks and insurance companies do not abdicate their responsibilities in preventing systemic financial risk, said the statement.
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The Monetary Authority of Singapore has revised banks’ reporting standards, with the rationalization of data collection regarding RMB business activity being among the priorities, the central bank said on May 17.