Kerry, Lew to next meet top Chinese officials in July

By Douwe Miedema

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Secretary of State John Kerry will meet senior Chinese officials in July as the world's two largest economies continue discussions on currency rates and the North Korean nuclear threat.

The so-called U.S.-China strategic and economic dialogue, an annual high-level forum, will be held in the week of July 8-12 in Washington, the Treasury Department said.

Kerry and Lew will meet Vice Premier Wang Yang and State Councilor Yang Jiechi, along with members of the Chinese delegation, and their U.S. colleagues.

Kerry has been meeting with China's leaders in Beijing this week, and the two countries agreed to make a joint effort to push for the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Lew traveled to China for a two-day visit in March, where he pushed Beijing to take more action on the exchange rate of the yuan, which many in Washington say is undervalued and is harming U.S. exports.

The discussions in July will follow up on these two meetings, the Treasury said.

"The dialogue will focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas," it said.

The United States and its allies believe North Korea violated the 2005 aid-for-denuclearization deal by conducting a nuclear test in 2006 and pursuing a uranium enrichment program that would give it a second path to a nuclear weapon in addition to its plutonium-based program.

(Reporting by Douwe Miedema; editing by Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-lew-next-meet-top-chinese-officials-july-155214842--business.html

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