U.S., China Sign 10-Year Agreement To Work Together on Environment

Chen's message was not new, but the manner and venue in which he said it were. His off-the-cuff remarks were made at a news conference.

Paulson, in an interview with a small group of reporters, said Chinese officials' willingness to speak out reflects the growing trust between the two parties. "To the extent they are disagreeing, it's really good to make sure they are not disagreements about nothing. . . . [It's] so easy for there to be a misunderstanding or misinterpretation," he said.

Since the Communist Party took power in 1949, China's leaders have avoided engaging critics in public at all costs. When they appear at briefings held by the State Council or Foreign Ministry, they typically repeat verbatim what they have said in writing.

For example, in the previous two rounds of the talks, Chinese delegates kept a low profile and made their points through the state-run media, which are mouthpieces for the government. That has changed as China continues to face criticism about the safety of its food and other products in media reports published and broadcast around the world.

"There's a frustration that the Chinese feel that they are not understood . . . . They feel as though they are working very hard," said Mike Leavitt, the U.S. secretary of health and human services. Leavitt said he has heard many times from Chinese officials that the media reports are unfair and exaggerated but that doesn't mean the officials do not recognize there is a problem. "Complaining about the media and making a rigorous response are not mutually exclusive," he said.

Earlier, Wu talked about a growing protectionism in the United States and included the media in her patriotic call for parties involved to do their part to keep the relationship on good terms for the benefit of their own country.

"I hope that the U.S. administration, Congress and the media will heed the voice of the business community. I hope they will not lose sight of the larger interests of the United States," Wu said.

It was unclear from the context whether Wu -- who earlier in the week told U.S. officials that the foreign press had "hyped" the safety problems, damaging China's reputation -- misunderstood the concept of freedom of the press in the United States or whether she had purposely implied that the American media are just as pro-U.S. as the Chinese state media are pro-China.

China's efforts to out-spin the United States were evident in the separate news conferences held during this week's talks. Calling China "a bit of an anomaly," Paulson in his news briefing turned attention back to the yuan and said that other major economies have grown up together for the most part and have market-determined currencies.

"China is not yet at a state where it makes sense to have a market-determined economy, but yet it is a very significant part of the global economy," he said. "So to be integrated in terms of trading of goods and services and having a currency that is not market determined, it is a challenge."