From Bloomberg (link)
China may agree to extend a crackdown on makers of pirated movies and enforce a ban on use of illegal software at a summit in Washington today, seeking to ease trade tensions before President Hu Jintao’s visit to the U.S. next week.
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez are also set to discuss China’s ban on U.S. beef, cell-phone standards and transparency in government rulemaking, two senior U.S. officials told reporters yesterday on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. trade deficit with China reached an estimated $202 billion last year, stoking complaints over the Asian nation’s currency policies, state subsidies and counterfeiting. China is offering a series of “incremental” concessions now, with more likely to be announced when Hu meets U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington, the U.S. officials said.
