China, U.S. agree to maintain high-level exchanges in economic field: ministry

China and the United States have agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and communications at all levels in the economic field in accordance with the consensus reached by the two heads of state during their meeting in Bali, China's Ministry of Finance said Monday.

The ministry made the remarks when commenting on the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's four-day visit to China that concluded Sunday.

During meetings with Yellen, the Chinese side has expressed the hope that the United States will be rational and pragmatic in bringing bilateral ties back to the right track at an early date, the ministry said.

The ministry expounded on China's stance on bilateral economic issues and common global challenges, including the mutually-beneficial nature of China-U.S. economic relations, concerns over the U.S. economic sanctions and suppression of China, China's position on healthy economic competition and China's willingness to work with the United States in addressing global challenges.

To achieve sound China-U.S. economic relations, China believes that it is necessary to fully respect the legitimate development rights and interests of all parties and conduct healthy competition in accordance with the principles of market economy and WTO rules.

"Differences should not lead to estrangement. Instead, they should precisely be a motivation to enhance communications and exchanges," the ministry stated.

China and the United States should seek consensus on important bilateral economic issues through candid communications to inject stability and positive energy into the bilateral economic relations, the ministry said.

The economic relations between the two countries are mutually beneficial in nature, the ministry added. China believes that its development is an opportunity rather than a challenge to the United States, and a gain rather than a risk. Strengthening cooperation between the two sides is the practical need and the right choice for both countries, according to the ministry.

The U.S. side said it does not seek to "decouple" from China, and that decoupling the world's top two economies would be disastrous for both countries and would bring instability to the world. The U.S. side has no intention of forcing other countries to choose sides and fragmenting the world economy.

China reiterated its concerns, urging the U.S. side to lift additional tariffs on Chinese products, stop the suppression of Chinese enterprises, treat two-way investments fairly, relax U.S. export controls on China, and lift the ban on imports of all products related to Xinjiang.

China expressed the hope that the U.S. side will take concrete actions to respond to its major concerns related to bilateral economic relations.

In the face of increasingly serious global challenges concerning macroeconomic and financial stability, climate change and debt issues, China hopes that developed countries, including the United States, will assume their due responsibilities, understand and accommodate the concerns of developing countries, and do more to promote common global development.