"I believe deeply that it's very important to the United States, to the economic health of the United States, that we maintain a strong dollar," said Geithner at the U.S. embassy in Japan.
"We bear a special responsibility for trying to make sure that we are implementing policies in the United States that will sustain confidence ... in investors around the world that as growth recovers and growth strengthens that we're going to bring our fiscal position back to a sustainable balance," he said.
It was the Treasury chief’s first trip to Japan after taking up his post in January. He is expected to visit Singapore for the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) on Thursday.
High budget deficit and unemployment
The U.S. budget deficit was recorded at $1.4 trillion for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30. Similar is the case for unemployment, which is soaring levels with each passing day. In October, the U.S. unemployment was recorded at 10.2 percent.
"Unemployment is really very, very high, exceptionally higher in the United States. It's still rising. It's probably going to rise for a bit longer, until you see a longer period of growth take hold," said Geithner.
Japan and China's efforts lauded
Geithner met Japan’s Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii on Tuesday, and praised the efforts of economies like China and Japan which rely more on domestic consumption for growth rather than exports.
Geithner also said that he wants the Democratic Party of Japan to guarantee that Japan Post Holdings Co. won't do business in a way that benefits domestic companies falsely.
"What we care about, of course, is that as it happens, whatever choice (Japanese government officials) will ever make, you see a broader level-playing field so that Japan's markets are more open in the future," he said.
He appreciated Beijing’s efforts to build a "less export-intensive" economy to keep the Yuan undervalued.
"I don't want to say more than what I've said in the past, which is that China has laid out this very broad direction of reforms' to invigorate domestic demand. It's a very complicated mix of policy changes. As part of that, they've recognized that it's in their interest over time to move to a more flexible .. exchange rate," he said.
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