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China-US Joint Economic Committee Meets in Washington
The China-US Joint Economic Committee (JEC) held its 13th session Thursday in Washington with both sides agreeing to continue to push forward the cooperative relations between the two countries in the fields of economy, trade, treasury and finance.
Chinese Minister of Finance Xiang Huaicheng and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Lawrence Summers co-presided over the meeting.
At the one-day session, the two sides exchanged views on the international economic situation and discussed the domestic economic situation and polices in China and the U.S.
Both sides agreed that the world economy is maintaining a positive development and the overall economic situation in both countries is satisfactory.
The two sides stressed that China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will promote not only the merge of China into the world economy but also the development of global trade and investment.
The two sides, satisfied at the recent progress made in the economic cooperation in Asia under the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan and South Korea, agreed that regional economic cooperation against the backdrop of globalization is favorable to the stability and development of the world economy.
Xiang Huaicheng said that the meeting between Chinese President Jiang Zemin and U.S. President Bill Clinton in New York in September has further promoted the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.
He also introduced the main contents of the 10th five-year national economic and social development plan of China and the country's west-development strategy.
During the session, U.S. Treasury Secretary Summers emphasized the importance of China's entry into the WTO and lauded the economic reforms in China.
The two sides agreed that the next meeting of the JEC will take place in Beijing in 2001.
The JEC session is an annual meeting attended by senior officials of the Chinese and U.S. governments, with the Chinese minister of finance and the U.S. secretary of treasury as head of each side. The meeting is designed to coordinate and oversee the orderly development of the economies of both countries. It has become a center of interaction between the two countries on economic issues.
The two sides issued a joint statement at the conclusion of the JEC session.
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