|
CNBC'S MOST SHARED
- Does Your Company Have This Secret Sauce?
- Texting And Driving Worse Than Drinking and Driving
- Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, Is Dead at 50
- Warren Buffett to CNBC: U.S. Economy In "Shambles" .. No Signs of Recovery Yet
- Rebound In Housing Hampered By Slowdown in 'Short Sales'
- People, Planet & Profit
- Is It Time For Google To Worry?
- Are Google Ad Words An Economic Indicator?
- UBS To Raise Capital, Sees Second-Quarter Loss
- Russia Mulls Major Banking Bailout: Report
- Global Mergers Halve in Second Quarter
- Housing Rebound Hurt by Slowdown in 'Short Sales'
- Italy Intercepts Billions in Fake Treasurys
- GM Says Bankruptcy Sale Delay Would Kill Suppliers
- Japan Logs Record Deflation as Demand Falls
- Qantas Cancels Dreamliners in New Boeing Setback
- Stanford in Jail as Prosecutors Protest Bond
- Giving Palm Credit Where Credit is Due...To a Point
- Vijay Singh Offers To Pay Stanford's Bail
- Megan Fox Alert: 'Rose Boy' Found in England
- Rich People With A Death Wish
- Pros Say: Economy Bounce Coming In Next Few Months
- Is "The Big Pierogi" Next For Shaq?
- Pros Say: Consumer Weakness Will Slow Recovery
- Is The Credit Crisis Good for Your Retirement Plans?
- Fake Bernie Weighs In On Real Madoff's Sentence
Text Size 
Making his first trip to China as Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner sounded a note of optimism on the U.S. economy and talked tough on deficits.
 |
CNBC.com Timothy Geithner |
“No one is going to be more concerned about future deficits than we are,” Geithner told reporters en route to meetings with the Chinese president, premier and central banker.
Those remarks seemed aimed equally at the U.S. and China, which is a big holder of U.S. treasury debt.
Chinese officials have expressed doubts recently about the status of the U.S. dollar as a world reserve currency and concern about growing U.S. deficits.
Geithner was more upbeat on the economy but remained cautious, underscoring his oft-repeated worries about ending government programs designed to repair the financial system too quickly.
“We are seeing a more durable stability in economy and the financial system is in substantially better shape," he said. "But we have a ways to go, and we need to keep working in the U.S. and with other major economies to restore conditions for a sustainable recovery.”
With General Motors expected to file bankruptcy tomorrow, officials said the Treasury secretary remained in contact with auto czar Steve Rattner and National Economics Council director Larry Summers. He is expected to remain in contact throughout his trip.
Officials have downplayed the potential for any breakthroughs on issues ranging from the value of the Chinese currency, climate change and the huge U.S./Chinese trade imbalance.
Geithner talked of the need to forge a deeper relationship with Beijing than Washington has so far.
“We would like to build with China the kind of relationship we built with the G-7 over the last several decades,” Geithner said.
The Treasury Secretary comes to the region with considerable experience. He lived in Thailand, and studied and taught Chinese.
He’ll need that experience. The U.S. plans to issue trillions of dollars in new debt to jump-start its economy and will count on Beijing to be a continued buyer.
The Americans are also looking to China to help stimulate its own economy, so it no longer has to grow as much by exporting to the U.S. Geithner said he’ll include China on the broader changes he foresees for the global banking system.
“We are committed to reforming the international system and our interests are best served by giving China a stake in that process,” he said.
Print
Email
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes