The US Treasury Department on Monday named David Loevinger as permanent financial attaché to China -- a new, Beijing-based position meant to encourage close ties on economic issues including foreign exchange.

Treasury spokesperson Tony Fratto said the new post reflected "a different phase in our economic relationship with China," adding Loevinger would work with Chinese officials to ensure a new trading mechanism for the yuan currency to work well.

"China has made a reform to its exchange rate mechanism -- that was an important step. We still want to see greater currency flexibility in the region," Fratto said.

"The next step is that the mechanism will be allowed to work and reflect market supply and demand. We think Loevinger is uniquely qualified to have discussions at that technical level with economic officials in China and economic officials elsewhere in Asia," he added.

The US Treasury also has permanent financial attachés in Buenos Aires, Tokyo and Brussels. Fratto said the new attaché position was distinct from that vacated by Olin Wethington, who resigned as the Treasury's special envoy to China last week to return to private life.

"We think it's time to have someone permanently based in Beijing for regular communications," Fratto said, adding there were no plans to name a new envoy to replace Wethington.

Loevinger, currently the Treasury's deputy assistant secretary for Africa, the Middle East and Asia, will assume the new role immediately and work at the US Embassy in Beijing from early next year, Fratto said.

In a related announcement, Fratto said US Treasury Secretary John Snow would travel to Japan and China next week to meet high-ranking officials and attend meetings of the Group of 20 nations on the outskirts of Beijing.

The G-20, founded in 1999, brings together the Group of Seven leading industrial nations and major developing countries such as China, India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

The group will likely discuss energy issues as well as financial and trade liberalization, Fratto said, adding the US would also press for joint efforts to combat terrorist financing and money laundering.

Following the G-20 meeting, Snow will lead the US delegation at the US-China Joint Economic Commission, a regular meeting of top economic officials from both countries.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris Cox and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Reuben Jeffery are also expected to attend the high-level meetings in Beijing.

Fratto said Chinese and American officials would touch on the "broad range of our economic engagement," including economic, trade and regulatory issues.

The US Treasury's semiannual report to Congress on the currency practices of its trading partners, a closely watched document originally expected by mid-October, will not be completed until after Snow's trip to Asia, Fratto said.

"We expect to have it ready in early November," Fratto told reporters in a regular press briefing.

"Certainly a visit to one of the key economic regions of the global economy would factor into some of the views expressed," he said. "We think it's best to wait until after we return from the visit to complete the report."

China in July revalued its yuan currency by 2.1 percent and dropped a long-standing peg against the US dollar in favor of managing its exchange rate by reference to a currency basket.

(Eastday.com October 6, 2005)