China urges U.S. to stabilize economy

BEIJING, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The United States must get its economic house in order, boost savings rates and protect Chinese investments, Chinese officials said Thursday.

The comments by senior officials were made during a Strategic Economic Dialogue summit addressing long-term issues between the two countries, the Financial Times reported.

Wang Qishan, a vice premier and leader of the Chinese delegation at the two-day talks in Beijing, called on the United States to act quickly on the crisis and said the two countries need to maintain channels of communication.

"We hope the U.S. side will take the necessary measures to stabilize the economy and financial markets as well as guarantee the safety of China's assets and investments in the U.S.," Wang said.

Zhou Xiaochuan, Chinese Central Bank governor, said a high reliance on credit helped cause the U.S. financial crisis.

As the largest economy in the world, the United States "should take the initiative to adjust its policies, raise its savings ratio appropriately and reduce its trade and fiscal deficits," he said.

Wang did not list which Chinese investments in the United States he meant, the Times reported. In November, China surpassed Japan to become the largest foreign holder of U.S. government debt.