Chinese President Hu Jintao heads to the United States next week hoping to patch up economic ties strained by spats over China’s ballooning trade surplus, currency policy and surging textile shipments.
Hu starts his visit on Sept. 5, just a few days after talks to hammer out a textile agreement ended in failure, with both sides saying there were wide differences in their positions.
The breakdown of negotiations comes as U.S. law-makers are stepping up criticism of China’s economic policy, saying July’s yuan revaluation was too small and Beijing needs to do more to address its bilateral trade surplus, which is on track to pass last year’s $162 billion.
See also: China to buy US goods to reduce surplus on China Daily and Hu aims to defuse rising tension with US on Financial Times.