As China’s vice president, Xi Jinping, prepares for his US visit, the vice minister of commerce, Gao Hucheng, has commented that China and the US should seek to fix the trade imbalance. Gao also suggested that China and the US should begin to address this problem with policy coordination. China Daily reports:
Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama reached important consensus on establishing a mutually beneficial cooperative partnership in 2011, giving “clear direction on the development of Sino-US economic and trade relations in the new period,” the official said.
In future, China will carry out a more positive opening-up policy, Gao said, noting China’s import scale will hopefully exceed $8,000 billion in the next five years and its trade partners including the US will share its business opportunities.
Thirdly, Gao pledged to improve levels of two-way investment, promising, “We will continue to positively attract foreign investment, step up the opening-up of the market, and try to address US concern on IPR (intellectual property rights) protection, industrial policy and investment environment.”
Fourthly, Gao vowed to expand bilateral industrial cooperation. “China will work with the United States to explore the feasibility of cooperation in the fields of energy saving, environmental protection, IT, biology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new energy, new materials, new-energy vehicles, medicine, medical equipment and tourism,” he said.
Although Gao has admitted that the trade imbalance is a fact, some believe that during Xi’s visit this issue will cause some tension. AFP reports:
Xi, the country’s leader-in-waiting, is likely to face a barrage of complaints over China’s allegedly discriminatory trade policies when he visits the United States in the coming week.
Trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies are on the rise as US President Barack Obama seeks to spark economic growth and create jobs — and bids for re-election — by attacking the deep US trade deficit with China.
The US trade deficit with China reached a record high of more than $295 billion in 2011, according to US figures.
Analysts say Obama’s pledge last month to launch a trade enforcement unit likely to focus on China and a new sweeping complaint against Beijing by the US auto parts industry are raising tensions.
See more about Xi Jinping via CDT.
