China pledged yesterday to rein in excess steel output and work with the US to enforce sanctions against North Korea, but there was no progress on the simmering tensions in the South China Sea.
The pledge was made as China and the United States wrapped up their two-day annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue, labeled by officials as most productive in years despite many divisions.
On the plus side, Beijing agreed to try to curb excess steel production, avoid competitive devaluations of the yuan and wind down unprofitable “zombie enterprises.” Both sides also said they welcomed investment from the other country.
China’s vow to persist with economic restructuring included specific steps to further open its financial sector to US firms, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said.
Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang said the two sides would step up cooperation against graft, and hold more military drills. They were also determined to enforce sanctions against North Korea.
But they disagreed on how to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. The US favors putting more pressure on Pyongyang, while China insists on reviving talks and strongly opposes US deployment of an anti-missile system in South Korea.
The two nations are also divided over disputes in the South China Sea, despite a commitment to improve rules for air and maritime encounters.
State Councilor Yang Jiechi told US Secretary of State John Kerry that China had the right to safeguard its territorial sovereignty, and would not change its position of not taking part in or accepting international arbitration rulings over the disputes. “China hopes the US will scrupulously abide by its promise to not take sides in relevant territorial disputes and to play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea,” Yang said.
Kerry called for all claimants to avoid “unilateral actions that could be deemed by somebody else to be provocative and therefore problematic.”
He also voiced concern over China’s crackdown on lawyers and religious freedom, and a new law’s restrictions on non-governmental organizations.
Ashley Townshend, research fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said this year’s dialogue was undermined by the perception that the Obama administration was in a “lame duck” phase, and the amount of “intractable disagreements” was growing.
“The dialogue is ... taking place amid a climate of growing mistrust and strategic competition,” he said.“The dialogue will not resolve the growing strategic mistrust in US-China relations.”
But Kerry said the talks were the “most productive” he had taken part in. “I think it did a good job to help set a stage for a very productive G20, and a very productive meeting between our two presidents when they come together in a few months.”
Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao also said the number of agreements reached in economic track this time round was the highest in the past 10 years.
Additional reporting by Catherine Wong.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Scientifically proven features men find attractive in women