China is calling on the United States to adopt policies that protect the value of Chinese investments in the U.S., and says the issue will be discussed at strategic and economic talks in Washington next week.
China holds more than $800 billion worth of U.S. Treasury securities, making it Washington's biggest creditor.
As such, Assistant Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao says China is especially interested in U.S. economic recovery efforts.
Zhu says China will clearly raise its request that the U.S. adopt what he calls responsible policies to ensure the basic stability of the dollar's exchange rate and to protect Chinese assets in the United States.
Chinese officials have repeatedly expressed concern that the stimulus plan the U.S. enacted in response to the global financial crisis may erode the value of the dollar, which would devalue China's U.S. investments.
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Tuesday he is working to prevent the dollar from losing value.
Zhu says China will carefully study Bernanke's statement.
Chinese and American officials meet in Washington, starting Monday, for two days of talks known as the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will lead the U.S. delegation. Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councilor Dai Bingguo are heading the Chinese negotiators.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei says the two governments also will also discuss strengthening energy cooperation, although he gave no details.
In response to a question about the troubled region of Xinjiang, which saw some of China's worst violence in recent years, He said it was strictly an internal affair.
At the same time, He called on the U.S. government to "restrict the activities" of Uighur activist Rebiya Kadeer.
Beijing blames Kadeer for instigating the violence.
Kadeer, who spent several years in jail in China and now lives near Washington, denies the charges. She accuses the Beijing government of repressing Uighurs, destroying their culture and curbing their religious freedom. Uighurs are a largely Muslim minority group that shares similarities with peoples in Central Asia.
The Chinese official said another issue expected to be on the agenda is North Korea, which has defied the world by continuing to pursue nuclear weapons. He supports the implementation of a United Nations resolution calling for tough sanctions against North Korea, but says China is committed to pursuing a negotiated settlement to the issue.
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