NEW YORK, April 20: The United States and China agree Beijing needs to adopt a more flexible currency in its own interest but the Bush administration feels it is moving too slowly on it, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Friday.

“They are moving quickly, but they are not moving, in my judgment, quickly enough,” Paulson told the Committee of 100, a business group in New York promoting better Chinese relations.

In his remarks and while answering questions afterward, Paulson said protectionist sentiments were rising in both countries as anger grows over US deficits but stepped around a question on whether Beijing was seeking unfair trade gains.

“I’ve learned over the years not to ascribe motives,” he said. “What I so is say they clearly see the principle, they clearly have moved and they've been very clear about the need to continue to move,” Paulson said.

—Reuters