By Anna Yukhananov BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Tuesday urged countries with a trade surplus to introduce policies to help domestic consumption, in what appeared to be a prod at Germany. Lew was in Berlin for talks with his German counterpart. Germany has the euro zone's biggest trade surplus and has in the past rebuffed pressure to shift policy to bring about a rebalancing of commercial flows in Europe.

By Anna Yukhananov BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Tuesday urged countries with a budget surplus to introduce policies to help domestic consumption, in what appeared to be a prod at Germany. Lew was in Berlin for talks with his German counterpart. Germany has the euro zone's biggest trade surplus and has in the past rebuffed pressure to shift policy to bring about a rebalancing of commercial flows in Europe.

By Anna Yukhananov and Aileen Wang BEIJING (Reuters) - China and the United States put trade and economic issues at the top of their diplomatic agenda as President Xi Jinping met U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Tuesday and called for the two sides to focus on shared interests rather than differences. The two men stuck resolutely to diplomatic niceties in front of the watching media ahead of what was, for both, their first major international meeting since taking their respective offices.

President Barack Obama's former chief of staff Jack Lew was confirmed Wednesday as the next US Treasury secretary, taking over a key portfolio at a time of deadlock over the budget and debt. The US Senate voted 71-26 -- with support from 20 Republicans -- to confirm Lew, a former White House budget director and Wall Street executive, providing Obama with a second new cabinet appointment approval in as many days. A day earlier, the chamber voted to confirm Chuck Hagel to head the Pentagon, after a contentious, seven-week process.