More signals of stabilizing ties urged

On Thursday and Friday, Vice-Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held multiple rounds of "candid, pragmatic, in-depth and constructive" talks in San Francisco. The talks were expected to help facilitate a fruitful meeting between President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden. Experts said the meeting between the two heads of state is much anticipated after they reached an important consensus during a meeting in November last year in Bali, Indonesia.

Vice-Premier He, who represents China in dealing with economic and trade ties with the US, was invited by Yellen to visit the US from Wednesday to Sunday, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Liao Min, vice-minister of finance, said at a news briefing in San Francisco that major points of consensus were reached during the talks between He and Yellen.

Both sides agreed to strengthen communication, seek consensus, manage differences and avoid unintended escalation of friction due to misunderstandings, Liao said.

They also emphasized that China and the US do not seek economic "decoupling", and agreed that the two countries will work together to combat common challenges and cooperate on issues including climate change and the debt of low-income and emerging economies.

Meanwhile, China has expressed its concerns regarding the US' restrictions on two-way investments, sanctions against Chinese companies, export controls and additional tariffs.

Yellen said during a news briefing on Friday that the relationship between the US and China is "one of the most important relationships of our time".

"The path it takes will shape opportunities and challenges for people in both our countries and around the world," Yellen said.

"The past two days of meetings in San Francisco have served as another step forward," she added.