US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is set to travel to Asia for his first gathering of the world's most powerful finance officials, before heading to China to press the case for economic reform.
Paulson, who succeeded John Snow in July, will mark his Group of Seven debut in Singapore next Saturday at the latest meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bankers.
At a time of faltering growth in the United States and nascent recoveries in Europe and Japan, the powerful club of wealthy nations is likely to reprise discussion about international currency rates.
Paulson, who will also visit China on this tour, returns to the region after last week attending a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
Addressing university students in Hanoi Friday, the former Goldman Sachs boss put paid to any concerns that the US government might favour a softer exchange rate to bolster US exports.
Paulson said he was "very much in favour of a strong dollar", and dwelt on another theme - economic imbalances - that is likely to figure large both at the G7 and in his talks with Chinese leaders.
"The US needs to increase its savings rate and deal with the deficit, while Japan, China and Europe need to do more to generate domestic consumption," he said.
"We also need more currency flexibility in East Asia and in China."
The United States has long complained that China's yuan is undervalued, boosting Chinese exports at the expense of US jobs. Beijing has launched incremental currency reforms, but has stressed it will not be rushed.
In any case, according to Chinese Finance Minister Jin Renqing Friday, the yuan's exchange rate "is not the major reason that causes imbalances in the global economy".
Heading into elections for Congress in November, some US lawmakers are stepping up their clamour for China to dramatically revalue the yuan by as much as 40 percent.
The issue has become tied up with debate about reform of the International Monetary Fund, which holds its annual meeting with the World Bank in Singapore on September 19-20.
With US support, IMF members are expected to adopt an interim voting reform to give a greater say to four countries, including China, whose representation in the Fund has lagged far behind their economic growth. But under one bill sponsored by two influential senators, the US administration would be compelled to veto any increase in the IMF vote of a country with a "fundamentally misaligned" currency.
Tim Adams, Paulson's deputy for international affairs, argues that the currency debate is intrinsic to IMF reform.