BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - Chinese officials have expressed confidence in the U.S. economy and its ability to help pull the global economy out of the current downturn, a lawmaker closely involved in U.S.-China issues said on Monday.
Representative Rick Larsen, co-chair of the U.S.-China Working Group, said that he and other members of the bipartisan congressional group came away from meetings in Beijing with the sense that the Chinese leadership was generally optimistic on the outlook for the U.S. economy and ready to cooperate.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is also currently in Beijing, seeking to allay concerns that Washington's bulging budget deficit and ultra-loose monetary policy will fan inflation, undermining both the dollar and U.S. bonds. [ID:nPEK144756]
"Any concern about inflation or the dollar was tempered by the confidence that the Chinese leadership expressed about the dynamism of the U.S. economy, and really they are looking towards the U.S. economy to lead the global economic recovery," Larsen, a Democrat from Washington, told reporters.
Larsen was speaking at the end of a week-long trip by the working group to China, during which he and working group co-chair Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican, met officials including Vice Premier Wang Qishan, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Commerce Minister Chen Deming.
"In some ways, the Chinese leadership has much more confidence in the U.S. economy than the average person on the street, certainly in my district," Larsen said.
The tone was more of cooperation rather than confrontation or criticism, he said, noting that they had discussed with the Chinese officials the possibility of setting up a hotline between the People's Bank of China and the U.S. Federal Reserve, the two countries' central banks.
"The Chinese leaders that we spoke with sounded very positive about the relationship with the United States," Larsen said. "I did not sense anything from the Chinese leadership that they were gaining at the expense of the United States." (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Writing by Jason Subler; Editing by Ken Wills)