BEIJING, September 22 (TMTPost)— U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies surged as China and U.S. are making progress in improvement of communications on economic and financial issues.

Credit：Ministry of Commerce of China

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, which tracks 65 China-exposed U.S.-listed firms, settled about 2.9% higher after dropping to the lowest close since July 6 on Thursday, while the U.S. stock benchmark S&P 500 slipped 0.2% on Friday.  A number of Chinese shares outperformed with their rare rallies these days. The American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Alibaba Group, the most valuable Chinese firm listed in U.S., jumped nearly 5%, the biggest daily gain since July 28, and shares of its e-commerce peers Pinduoduo and JD.com added about 4.1% and 2% respectively. Baidu and Bilibli, two components of Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, climbed 3.4% and 5.2% respectively. Three prominent Tesla’s Chinese rivals NIO, Li Auto and Xpeng rose between around 1% and 3.5%.

Earlier Friday, Beijing and Washington confirmed their new communication system. In order to follow through on the important consensus reached by the two heads of state last November, China and the United States decided to establish working groups in the economic field, including an economic working group and a financial working group, under the direction of Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng, who lead economic and trade affairs between China and U.S., the state media China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

The economic working group will be co-chaired by vice-ministerial officials from the Ministry of Finance of China and the U.S. Department of Treasury, and the financial working group will be led by vice-ministerial officials from the People's Bank of China, the central bank, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, according to the report. These working groups will hold regular and ad-hoc meetings to strengthen communication and exchanges on economic and financial issues, CCTV reported.

The U.S. Treasury Department echoed the announcement. In its press release on Friday, the department said the two groups will meet at the vice minister level on a regular cadence and report to Secretary Yellen and Vice Premier He.

The working groups will serve as important forums to communicate America’s interests and concerns, promote a healthy economic competition between China and U.S. with a level playing field for American workers and businesses, and advance cooperation on global challenges, Yellen said at X, formerly Twitter. Announcing establishment of these working groups is a key step forward in bilateral relaship and builds on her visit to Beijing in July, the Treasury Secretary added.

The announcement follows a string of high-ranking administration officials’ visits to China this year, which paves the way for a possible meeting between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in November at an Asia-Pacific economic conference in San Francisco.

Out of the four U.S. government officials to visit China this year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken became the highest ranking American official to come to China in almost five years, as well as the highest ranking official from the Biden administration to set foot in China since Biden took office in January 2021. Janet Yellen followed suit and told Chinese Premier Li Qiang the U.S. side does not seek to decouple or sever supply chains, and has no intention of hindering China's modernization process, in her long-anticipated trip to China from July 6-9.

Days after Yellen’s visit came John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. In his meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang later that month, Kerry said the U.S. hopes Sino-U.S. relations maintain stable. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who travelled in late August, told Li Qiang that The U.S. government has no intention of containing China's development and does not seek to decouple from China. Raimondo said the United States is willing to maintain communication and normal economic and trade relations, and is willing to promote the steady development of bilateral relations.