Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said China had addressed some US trade complaints but acknowledged lingering concerns as two days of talks closed Monday with no apparent breakthrough on the yuan.
Geithner spoke at the conclusion of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the two trading superpowers, at which the Treasury department said the Chinese yuan's controversial peg to the US dollar was an "important focus".
"We want to see China continue on the path of reform of its exchange rate system," Geithner told reporters.
The two sides met for the annual talks hoping to find common ground after a range of disputes — many centering on trade — flared up in recent months.
Geithner emphasised the positive, saying US complaints had led China to relax certain restrictions seen as shutting foreign firms out of Chinese government procurement contracts, and other disputes.
"We welcome the progress we achieved to provide a more level playing field for American firms exporting to China and operating in China," he said.
Geithner suggested those gains were made in recent weeks, and not during the talks.
"This is progress. It does not fully resolve our concerns but it gives us a set of basic principles on which to move forward," he said.
However, he added China needed to do more to ensure it abided by fair trade norms and said Washington would continue pressing Beijing on that point.
"We have agreed to a process of dialogue … to find ways to address our remaining concerns," he said.
He said that process would involve US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, but he gave no further details.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the US delegation, along with Geithner, in the talks with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councillor Dai Bingguo.
Geithner repeated earlier statements lauding China for its long-term commitment to the process of reforming the exchange rate of its yuan currency, which has been effectively pegged at 6.8 to the US dollar since mid-2008.
That policy has provoked complaints in the United States and in Europe that it was unfairly aimed at making Chinese products more affordable on world markets as compared to those of trading rivals.
Some members of the US Congress have advocated taking punitive action against China over the policy, while Beijing has steadfastly insisted it will adjust the policy on its own terms and not give in to outside pressure.
Assistant Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao repeated that position Tuesday in comments to reporters.
"We have the right to decide our own exchange rate regime and noise from the outside only delays (currency reform)," he said.
China, meanwhile, repeated its concerns over US restrictions on exports of high-tech equipment to China, according to a joint statement by the two sides.
"China expressed its concern regarding control of US technology exports," it said, adding the two sides would continue examining the issue.
Locke said earlier this week that Washington would complete its review of its export control policies by summer.
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