ANNAPOLIS Maryland - AFP


In a new twist Chinese officials are now openly rebuking the United States for the world's economic ills - and even dispensing some advice.

From the plummeting U.S. dollar to the American housing market crisis Beijing has been hinting mismanagement on the part of Washington and cautioning about the dangers of keeping markets too open.

The self-confidence of the Chinese riding on the crest of rapid economic growth on the back of $1.7 trillion in foreign reserves was highly evident at the bilateral cabinet-level talks that began in Annapolis Maryland east of Washington Tuesday.

"In the past … China always hoped to draw experience from the U.S. to guide its own development" said Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiao Chuan. "However this time we see something different." He pointed out that reforms and market openings could backfire and that it could also be a lesson.

"China is of course interested in learning from the experience of the United States in macroeconomic regulation and using a market economy and now we also want to see what lessons we can draw from the experience of the U.S. after the turbulence" he said.

Zhou reserved harsher criticism for the weakening U.S. dollar blaming it for driving up the price of oil and other commodities stoking inflation and dampening the growth of developing countries reeling from exchange rate turmoil.

Last week Sun Zhenyu the Chinese ambassador to the World Trade Organization asked Washington to take action to stabilize the dollar and raised concerns over a "rising sentiment of protectionism" in the United States saying that it could threaten global trade.