US presses China on North Korea

The United States pressed China yesterday for joint action against North Korea, at the start of high-level talks aimed at putting an end to months of discord, notably over currency and trade.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are leading a huge delegation to the Strategic and Economic Dialogue – two days of discussions that come at a sensitive time in Sino-US ties.

The two countries are looking to move forward on a number of issues including the value of the yuan – with the US hoping for some kind of Chinese pledge to let it appreciate – lingering trade spats and internet freedom.

In a sign of the importance Washington has given to the meeting between the world's number one and three economies, about 200 officials have come to Beijing – a number which Clinton said she believed was unprecedented. "Our economies have become increasingly inseparable," Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan, who is leading Beijing's delegation along with State Councillor Dai Bingguo, said at the opening ceremony in the Great Hall of the People.

Clinton said: "We will not agree on every issue but we will discuss them openly," as she cited human rights concerns.