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US commerce chief in China to seek greater trade access
2006-11-13
US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has met Chinese trade officials as he began a visit aimed at gaining greater access to China's markets for US goods and halting copyright piracy. Gutierrez went into a morning meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, during which he would push to "strip away impediments to US exports," according to a US Commerce Department statement. The issue is top of the US trade agenda again after another record US deficit with China. The trade gap was 23 billion dollars in September, up from 22 billion in August, as imports from China rose 3.3 percent to a record 27.6 billion dollars, the department said last week. "This is now my fourth visit to China. That shows the importance that we place on our relationship with the People's Republic (of China) and how important it is for the future," Gutierrez said as he went into the meeting. "We are working off a very positive foundation." Though US exports to China's booming economy have also risen, Gutierrez said before departing for China that the imbalance must be addressed. "US exports to China are already at record levels but we're not satisfied -- there's room to grow," he said. "While China is more open than before, much progress must still be made to provide fair access to American exporters and businesses," Gutierrez said. US critics charge that China keeps its currency weak to gain an unfair trade advantage, allowing it to boost exports at the expense of US manufacturing jobs. The Democratic Party's victory in last week's Congressional polls is widely expected to make for a harder US line on trade disputes with China. Gutierrez, who arrived with a delegation of 25 American business leaders, is expected to raise such issues at a joint committee on commerce and trade, of which he is co-chairman. Gutierrez and Chinese officials will discuss "policy issues that US businesses and delegation members face when doing business in China," the US Commerce Department said in the statement. His visit comes on the heels of that last week by European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who highlight similar problems. Gutierrez will preside over a deal-signing ceremony on Monday between Motorola and two Chinese companies, and a separate deal involving Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. The Fox deal is for an exclusive partnership with China's biggest video distributor, Zoke Culture Group, to distribute Fox DVDs in China. He will give a speech on Tuesday at a copyright protection roundtable hosted by US Ambassador Clark Randt. The delegation travels to the financial hub of Shanghai on Wednesday where Gutierrez will visit the China International Tourism Mart to highlight the importance of Sino-US travel industry relations.
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