China should rest easy that its investments in the dollar remain safe, the newly arrived U.S. ambassador in Beijing, Gary Locke, said on Sunday, adding that the world's two biggest economies could find common ground despite economic and political strains.
In his previous job as U.S. commerce secretary, Locke often chided China over its trade policies, but in his first media appearance since taking up his new job in Beijing he gave a more benign message of potential cooperation.
"The United States and China have a profoundly important and complex diplomatic and economic relationship, one with challenges, to be sure, but which also holds great promise for expanded cooperation and collaboration," Locke told reporters.
Since Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating for long-term U.S. debt in early August, Chinese state media have accused Washington of reckless fiscal policies that have created uncertainty about Beijing's big holdings of dollar assets.
Analysts estimate Beijing has put about two-thirds of its $3.2 trillion foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, in dollars and is the United States' biggest foreign creditor.
Asked about Chinese disquiet about the U.S. economy and creditworthiness, Locke said President Barack Obama and Congress has mapped out a "path ensuring fiscal integrity of the United States." He said U.S. treasury bonds were still finding buyers despite the downgrade.
"It's a clear indication that investment in the United States is safe, secure and that the economy, while having its challenges, is still strong," he said.
"We have this opportunity as two great nations to provide the leadership for the entire world," Locke, a former governor of Washington state whose ancestors came from China, told reporters outside his new residence.
Locke’s comments come after Standard & Poor’s decision to strip the U.S. of its AAA rating prompted a scolding from China. The country’s official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary the U.S. must cure its “addiction” to borrowing. China held $1.16 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities at the end of May, more than any other country.
“Many outside the United States believe the credit rating cut is an overdue bill that America has to pay for its own debt addiction and the short-sighted political wrangling in Washington,” Xinhua said Aug. 6.
Ten-year yields set a record low last week as investors snapped up Treasuries on signs of slowing growth and a widening debt crisis in Europe, undeterred by Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the U.S.
Locke, 61, a former governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, also represented the state in Congress from 1982 to 1993. From 2005 to 2008, he was a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, a business and litigation law firm that represents clients in the U.S. and China.
Locke was appointed commerce secretary in 2009. He replaced Jon Huntsman as ambassador after Huntsman resigned in April to make a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
In his previous job as U.S. commerce secretary, Locke often chided China over its trade policies, but in his first media appearance since taking up his new job in Beijing he gave a more benign message of potential cooperation.
"The United States and China have a profoundly important and complex diplomatic and economic relationship, one with challenges, to be sure, but which also holds great promise for expanded cooperation and collaboration," Locke told reporters.
Since Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating for long-term U.S. debt in early August, Chinese state media have accused Washington of reckless fiscal policies that have created uncertainty about Beijing's big holdings of dollar assets.
Analysts estimate Beijing has put about two-thirds of its $3.2 trillion foreign exchange reserves, the world's largest, in dollars and is the United States' biggest foreign creditor.
Asked about Chinese disquiet about the U.S. economy and creditworthiness, Locke said President Barack Obama and Congress has mapped out a "path ensuring fiscal integrity of the United States." He said U.S. treasury bonds were still finding buyers despite the downgrade.
"It's a clear indication that investment in the United States is safe, secure and that the economy, while having its challenges, is still strong," he said.
"We have this opportunity as two great nations to provide the leadership for the entire world," Locke, a former governor of Washington state whose ancestors came from China, told reporters outside his new residence.
Locke’s comments come after Standard & Poor’s decision to strip the U.S. of its AAA rating prompted a scolding from China. The country’s official Xinhua News Agency said in a commentary the U.S. must cure its “addiction” to borrowing. China held $1.16 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities at the end of May, more than any other country.
“Many outside the United States believe the credit rating cut is an overdue bill that America has to pay for its own debt addiction and the short-sighted political wrangling in Washington,” Xinhua said Aug. 6.
Ten-year yields set a record low last week as investors snapped up Treasuries on signs of slowing growth and a widening debt crisis in Europe, undeterred by Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the U.S.
Locke, 61, a former governor of Washington from 1997 to 2005, also represented the state in Congress from 1982 to 1993. From 2005 to 2008, he was a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, a business and litigation law firm that represents clients in the U.S. and China.
Locke was appointed commerce secretary in 2009. He replaced Jon Huntsman as ambassador after Huntsman resigned in April to make a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
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