Treasury: US, China officials agree to climate finance work

ZURICH (AP) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met Wednesday with her Chinese counterpart and pledged an effort to manage differences and “prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict” as the two nations try to thaw relations.

Yellen’s first face-to-face meeting with Vice Premier Liu He in Zurich is the highest-ranking contact between the two countries since their presidents agreed last November to look for areas of potential cooperation.

Liu, for his part, said he was ready to work together to seek common ground between China and the U.S.

"No matter how circumstances change, we should always maintain dialogue and exchanges," he said.

A U.S. Treasury readout of their meeting says the two agreed that the U.S. and China would cooperate more on climate finance issues and would both work to support "developing countries in their clean energy transitions." The readout also indicates that Yellen plans to travel to China and welcomes her counterparts to the U.S. in the near future.

The meeting comes as the U.S. and Chinese economies grapple with differing, but intertwined challenges on trade, technology and more.

Yellen, in opening remarks in front of reporters, told Liu: “While we have areas of disagreement, and we will convey them directly, we should not allow misunderstandings, particularly those stemming from a lack of communication, to unnecessarily worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationship.”

She said the two countries “have a responsibility to manage our differences and prevent competition from becoming anything even near conflict."

Both economies have their challenges.

The Chinese economy is reopening after a COVID-19 resurgence killed tens of thousands of people and shuttered countless businesses. The U.S. is slowly recovering...