US-China dialogue to be held July 8-12

The next US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue will be held in the US capital Washington July 8-12, the State Department said on Saturday. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew will attend the dialogue along with their Chinese counterparts, it said in a statement. "The dialogue will focus on addressing the challenges and opportunities that both countries face on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global areas of immediate and long-term economic and strategic interest," it said. The running dispute over China's currency is expected to top the agenda, after the Treasury said on Friday that the yuan remains "significantly undervalued." The annual high-level meetings aimed at resolving disputes between the world's two largest economies began in 2006 under then president George W. Bush, when they were referred to as the "US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue." President Barack Obama in 2009 broadened the scope of the meetings, renaming them the "US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue."