U.S. and China to hold talks on 'balanced growth' amid overcapacity concerns, Yellen says

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Saturday that she and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng agreed to launch exchanges on "balanced" economic growth, an effort to address U.S. concerns about China's excess manufacturing capacity.

After two days of economic talks in China's southern export hub of Guangzhou, Yellen said she and He also agreed to start a forum to cooperate on anti-money laundering efforts in their respective financial systems.

The exchanges "will facilitate a discussion around macroeconomic imbalances, including their connection to overcapacity, and I intend to use the opportunity to advocate for a level playing field for American workers and firms," Yellen said in a statement released at the conclusion of the talks.

She characterised four and a half hours of discussions with He on Saturday as productive and frank.

Coming into her four-day visit to China, her top priority was to persuade Chinese officials to rein in excess production capacity for electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels and other clean energy technology that threaten competing firms in the U.S. and other countries.

The Biden administration is facing growing calls from U.S. lawmakers to increase tariffs on Chinese EVs to protect U.S. producers.

Chinese state media pushed back on her excess capacity arguments, calling them a "pretext" for protectionist U.S. policies and "fear-mongering."

Yellen did not threaten to raise tariffs or impose other trade barriers if China failed to curb state support that has expanded production of EVs, solar panels and other clean energy products far beyond domestic demand, a senior U.S. Treasury official said.

"I think the Chinese realize how concerned we are about the implications of their industrial