With a new confrontational approach, the Bush administration is pushing China
to act as a more "mature trading partner," as U.S. Trade Representative Rob
Portman puts it. That goal -- to make sure China plays fair by international
trading rules -- will be tested next week when U.S. and Chinese officials
convene a senior-level dialogue aimed at easing economic tensions between the
two powers.
The April 11 meeting, to be held in Washington, will set the stage for
Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit to the U.S. one week later. Next week's
session could produce an agreement that would pave the way for U.S. companies to
take part in Chinese trade exhibitions. In the days that follow, Chinese
officials are expected to go on a multibillion-dollar buying spree of American
goods, from soybeans to computer-networking gear to transportation equipment.
But progress on resolving substantive issues has been elusive. U.S. officials
have begun to damp expectations for any breakthrough on their priority
objectives, such as widening access to China's domestic market and stiffening
China's enforcement of intellectual-property rights -- when the Joint Commission
on Commerce and Trade formally convenes next week.
"Both sides recognize the stakes," said Myron Brilliant, vice president for
Asia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who has consulted with U.S. and Chinese
officials in recent days. "But there aren't going to be any home runs."
More likely is a modest package of commitments providing for closer
coordination on combating piracy of intellectual property, including an
agreement among Chinese computer makers to ship their products loaded with
legitimate copies of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. Also under
discussion is a proposal to ease rules in China that limit domestic access for
international express-delivery carriers, such as FedEx Corp. and United Parcel
Service Inc.
Next week's meeting and the visit by Mr. Hu come at a time of rising tensions
between China and the U.S. Washington's hope is for China to become "a fully
accountable stakeholder in the international trading system," Assistant U.S.
Trade Representative Tim Stratford said on Capitol Hill this week.
To accomplish the goal, the Bush administration, while still supportive of
economic diplomacy, has taken steps this year to toughen economic policy toward
Beijing. Last week, the U.S. filed a protest at the World Trade Organization
aimed at cracking open China's auto-parts market to foreign suppliers. And
consideration is being given to additional WTO action to address concerns that
China provides unfair subsidies to business to promote exports.
In China, some officials say they have been surprised by the surge in
protectionist sentiment in the U.S. In the past, it has been Washington that has
urged Beijing to embrace free trade. But in recognition of the uncertain
political environment, Mr. Hu and other Chinese officials plan to extol the
virtues of free trade and benefits of globalization in a bid to forestall the
erection of new trade barriers.
One hope among Chinese officials is to begin to defuse tensions over the U.S.
trade deficit with China, which topped $200 billion in 2005 by U.S. estimates. A
senior Chinese official said yesterday that the agreements to buy U.S. goods
expected from next week's delegation aren't meant to be one-time transactions.
Rather, they are intended to be continuing contracts that will smooth out trade
imbalances between the two countries.
"China does not intentionally pursue a large trade surplus with the U.S. We
are willing to increase our imports," said the senior Chinese official.
Mr. Hu is scheduled to arrive April 18 in Seattle, where he will visit
officials from Microsoft. He also plans to tour Boeing Co., which is in talks to
sell as many as 80 planes to China, people close to the situation said.
Ahead of Mr. Hu's visit, a delegation of Chinese politicians and business
executives led by Vice Premier Wu Yi will parcel out purchase agreements across
13 states and 14 cities, in an attempt to show Americans the benefits of
Sino-U.S. trade, the Chinese official said. Ms. Wu is scheduled to appear in Los
Angeles today to begin the signing of what officials have described as "over $4
billion" in deals.
On April 20, Mr. Hu is scheduled to meet with President Bush in Washington,
his first official visit to the U.S. since taking office in 2003. Geopolitical
concerns, from human rights to Taiwan to North Korea, will inevitably make their
way onto the agenda. Chinese officials say that enlisting U.S. support in
opposing any moves by Taiwan to seek formal independence is its highest
priority. But economic issues, by far, are causing the greatest friction at the
moment in U.S.-Sino relations. "This is a very important opportunity for both
the United States and China," said Montana Sen. Max Baucus, the top-ranking
Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/0,,SB114425760642017868-jGHN219_CezTycT4ksdO8_fvx6A_20060412,00.html?mod=regionallinks