Britain, China vow to further financial cooperation

The fifth UK-China Financial Dialogue ended in London Thursday, highlighting the need to promote the reform of international financial institutions for a fair voice and representation to all members.

The dialogue was co-chaired by UK's Chief Secretary of Treasury Stephen Timms and China's Vice Finance Minister Lou Jiwei. Officials noted the progress made last year on debt relief and financing for development, and recognized the importance of delivering on the promises to ensure debt sustainability and promote the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Lou said that despite the differences in their social systems and development levels, the UK and China could cooperate closely in the financial sector in which Britain has developed fairly balanced policies.

The Chinese official said that China will continue its support for the UK International Finance Facility for Immunization and highly commends the development work done by the British Government.

Both sides agreed on the importance of reforming the international financial institutions to ensure that they provide fair voice and representation to all members.

Finance officials from both countries emphasized their commitment to making concrete progress on this issue at the forthcoming Annual Meetings in Singapore.

The two sides discussed appropriate policies for handling the long term fiscal challenge of providing social services for aging populations, and the respective approaches to the energy regulation and taxation, particularly with respect to the goals of improving energy efficiency and security.

Acknowledging the vital role of stable and well-functioning financial system in the economy, both sides stressed the importance of strengthening coordinated financial regulatory frameworks and improving relevant legislation, to maintain stability and develop healthy and competitive financial services sectors.

The next round of financial dialogue is to be held in China in 2007.

Source: Xinhua