WASHINGTON - The fourth-round China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) has yielded "encouraging progress" on an array of economic fronts, a US Treasury official said on Tuesday.

Markets of China and other emerging economies play a big role in US and global recovery, as the United States is reorienting its growth strategy to focus on exports and competitiveness and European demand is expected to remain weak for some time, said US Under Secretary of the Treasury Lael Brainard.

Since early 2009, US exports to China have more than doubled and now exceed 130 billion US dollars a year, she noted in a speech to the Washington International Trade Association.

China's currency, the RMB, has appreciated 13 percent against the dollar in real terms over the past two years, and there has been a large reduction in China's current account surplus since US President Barack Obama took office in 2009, said the top US Treasury official for international affairs.

It is also noteworthy that China is moving forward with a number of steps to liberalize and open its financial system, which has increased the ability of global investors to participate in the Chinese market, stressed Brainard.

The high-level S&ED bilateral talks were held in Beijing on May 3-4.