NEW YORK, Sept. 19 -- China and the United States could work together to improve theglobal financial system in order to achieve a stable and sustainable economic developmentfor the world, officials and experts said at a symposium here recently.
As economic integration between the two countries and their influence on the rest of theworld grew, the coordination of economic policies between them became much moreimportant, said Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao at the symposium titled"Building the Financial System of the 21st Century: An Agenda for China and the UnitedStates."
The two countries together have a huge impact on the world financial system, said FrankNewman, former U.S. deputy secretary of the Treasury.
"The ability to deal with global financial issues quickly and with cooperation between thetwo sides is very important," Newman said.
There are three major trends affecting global markets that require careful attention: thetransformative financial technology, the strained trading liquidity, and the large scale ofmarket intervention by central banks, said Christopher Giancarlo, commissioner of theU.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
"A successful management of these challenges will determine the health and vibrancy ofthe global financial markets," said Giancarlo, adding that "The U.S. and China areexperiencing different stages of financial developments, but we share the commondetermination to continue to improve the markets and economies."
The U.S. and China have different interests and experiences, so the mutual understandingof each other is important, said Hal Scott, director of the program on international financialsystems at the Law School of Harvard University.
"The cooperation between U.S. and China over economic issues will affect the world. Ithink we need to strengthen them by a mechanism for further cooperation," he noted.
Newman also suggested that "rather than trying to solve a particular problem, it's morecrucial to establish a mechanism so you are ready when you need them."
As a matter of fact, China and the U.S. have made essential progress in building such a"mechanism" for bilateral dialogues in financial issues.
The 7th China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), held in Washington D.C. inJune this year, produced ample outcomes in various economic issues, including thepromises of building more open and stable financial sectors in both countries.
Both sides spoke highly of the S&ED dialogue this year, which was widely seen as thegroundwork for success of President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States slated forSept. 22-25.
"The upcoming meeting between the two presidents offers a new opportunity of strategicimportance for promoting China-U.S. cooperation. It will facilitate adjustment andimprovement of international financial and trade architecture." Zhu said.
"On one hand, China has promised to continue its market-oriented exchange rate reformand increase exchange rate flexibility, so as to let the market play a decisive role in theallocation of resources. On the other, the U.S. has pledged to stay committed to promotinga strong, sustainable and more balanced pattern of growth characterized by higherinvestment and national savings," said the Chinese vice finance minister.
The U.S. Federal Reserve has promised to foster maximum employment and pricestability in accordance with its statutory mandate.
