A bank employee counts Chinese yuan (RMB) bills next to U.S. dollar bills at Kasikorn Bank in Bangkok, Thailand, Jan. 26, 2023.
Athit Perawongmetha | Reuters
BEIJING – The United States and China signed agreements last week to cooperate on financial stability, according to a statement from the People's Bank of China on Monday.
The agreement was part of a meeting of the U.S.-China Financial Action Task Force in Shanghai on Thursday and Friday. The task force is co-led by Brent Neiman, Treasury’s deputy undersecretary for international financial affairs, and Xuan Changning, vice governor of the People’s Bank of China.
The two sides also exchanged a list of people to contact in case of financial stress or risky events, the People's Bank of China said in a statement. The Treasury Department data was not available as of early Monday afternoon Beijing time.
Representatives from the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the China Securities Regulatory Commission also attended, the People's Bank of China said.
The People's Bank of China described the conversation as “professional, practical, frank and constructive,” according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese statement. The statement said the topics discussed included capital markets, cross-border payments and the two countries' monetary policy, especially in the context of the recently concluded third full-fledged meeting in China.
Technical experts reported on the importance of global banks in each country, the operational resilience of financial institutions, and stress tests related to climate risks.
China’s government bond market saw sharp volatility earlier this month amid reports of intervention by the People’s Bank of China. Central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said on state media on Thursday that financial risks in China had declined, including from local government debt.
Last week, U.S. and Chinese financial institutions met for their first roundtable meeting under the working group, the People’s Bank of China said, without disclosing names. The institutions exchanged potential cooperation opportunities and discussed how finance can contribute to sustainable growth.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng launched economic and financial working groups in September 2023, through which Treasury officials will meet regularly at the vice-ministerial level with the Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China, respectively.
