US, China vow teamwork amid currency tensions

China and the United States vowed Thursday at a top-level meeting in Beijing to cooperate in tackling the global economic crisis, even as they sparred over Chinese exchange rate reform.
Following a recent weakening of China's currency, the yuan, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's team pressured his hosts on the contentious issue on the first day of their twice-yearly Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED).
"We certainly emphasised the importance in our view of continued currency reform, and that currency reform is important for continuing to re-balance China's economy," a senior US official said on the first of two days of talks.
"There was a fair amount of discussion on the Chinese side about the challenges they face but also a restatement of their commitment to continued currency reform," he said, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity.