Paulson arrives in China

BEIJING, April 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson arrived Wednesday in China, which is facing increasing pressure to speed up the revaluation of its currency.

Paulson comes to China after presenting a major proposal in Washington to reform the U.S. financial regulatory system.

He began his talks with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier Wang Qishan for advancing the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue and bilateral economic ties, Xinhua reported.

China has been blamed by critics for keeping its currency artificially low so as to make its exports cheaper, thereby helping the country to run huge trade surplus against the United States and rest of the world.

The Xinhua report said Wang informed Paulson the two countries have reached much consensus since the establishment of the economic talks, resulting in growing mutual trust and bilateral relations.

Wang said he was willing to have "an in-depth exchange of views" with Paulson.

Paulson said he too looked forward to working closely with Wang on the preparations for new round of talks, the report said.

During his two-day stay, Paulson was also scheduled to meet President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

The visit comes as China faces widening protests by Tibetans and their supporters against Chinese rule of Tibet. The Tibetan issue could come up during Paulson's talks with Chinese officials.