BRASILIA, Brazil- Brazil's finance minister says the South American country and Washington are not working together to persuade China to let its currency rise in value.

Minister Guido Mantega is dismissing speculation that the two were collaborating on such an effort following last week's visit to Brazil by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Geithner did not mention China by name during his stopover, but he criticized nations that keep their currencies devalued to make their exported goods less expensive and more competitive.

In a press conference in Brasilia, Geithner said the United States and Brazil are "fundamentally aligned" and must act together to achieve a more stable and stronger global economic system.

According to information released by the presidential office, US President Obama will be in Brasilia on March 19, where he will hold a bilateral meeting with President Dilma Rousseff, and in Rio de Janeiro on March 20.

The meeting between the leaders will be the first since Rousseff took office on January 1, although both have already met in Washington in July 2009, when she was former President Lula da Silva's Chief of Staff, during a forum of business leaders.

Brazil's Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota will travel to the United States in late February to define the details of the meeting between the two presidents, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry reported.