US, China agree to hold talks on 'balanced economic growth'

The planned talks mark the latest step forward in joint efforts to stabilise rocky ties between the world's two leading economies since a meeting between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping last November.

The United States and China have agreed to hold "intensive exchanges on balanced growth", the US Treasury Department said in a statement, after two days of talks between Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and her Chinese counterpart He Lifeng in Guangzhou.

The planned talks mark the latest step forward in joint efforts to stabilise rocky ties between the world's two leading economies since a meeting between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping last November.

"These exchanges will facilitate a discussion around macroeconomic imbalances, including their connection to overcapacity, and I intend to use this opportunity to advocate for a level playing field for American workers and firms," said Yellen in a separate statement on Saturday (Apr 6).

Overcapacity is seen by the United States as huge Chinese subsidies - to industries such as solar, electric vehicles and batteries - risking a surplus of cheap goods that threatens those sectors elsewhere.

After warning Friday that China's overcapacity could pose risks to economies around the world, Yellen told the media that she discussed the issue for "more than two hours" during Saturday morning talks with He.