Geithner sees "promising shifts" in China's policy

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are pictured during closing statements at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue at the Interior Department in Washington, May 10, 2011.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that China has taken key steps to level the playing field for U.S. firms in the Chinese market, including delinking government procurement from indigenous technology requirements.

"We are seeing very promising shifts in the direction of Chinese economic policy," Geithner said at the end of the annual U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue in Washington.

He said China had allowed its yuan currency to appreciate over the past year, but that Washington hoped Beijing would let the yuan rise more rapidly and against a broader range of currencies.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley and Andrew Quinn)