US Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson yesterday said he would press Beijing over market access and its currency as he and top Chinese officials opened talks amid demands by US critics for quick action on trade disputes.
Paulson has warned against expecting breakthroughs from the two-day talks, billed as the start of a long-range dialogue. But US President George W. Bush is under pressure to show results after his Democratic rivals, including prominent critics of Beijing's trade record, won last month's congressional elections.
"We will emphasize the importance of continuing to open markets to trade, competition and investment," Paulson said in an opening statement at the talks, according to a written text.
He said the US side also would stress "the importance of currency flexibility" -- a key demand by US companies.
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi (吳儀), opening the talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, expressed optimism they would "help us enhance mutual trust and remove misgivings."
Paulson's delegation included Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and four other Cabinet secretaries. The Chinese side included ministers of finance, commerce and technology, as well as China's central bank governor. The gathering includes side meetings on US-Chinese cooperation in health, finance and other fields.
US officials say the talks are meant to help create a long-range plan for relations. But US business groups want quicker action and are pressing Paulson to take a hard line with Beijing. He has cautioned Bei-jing that US protectionist sentiment could rise if the process does not show some short-term results.
A key issue for US exporters is China's currency, the yuan, which they say the government keeps undervalued, giving Chinese companies an unfair price advantage and contributing to a widening trade gap between the two nations.
The yuan yesterday rose to 7.8180 to the US dollar -- its highest level since Beijing revalued the currency in July last year and adopted a system that lets its exchange rate increase gradually. But since that time, the yuan has risen only 3.6 percent against the US dollar, not enough for US manufacturers.
A Chinese central bank official told reporters earlier this week that Beijing sees no reason for rapid changes in a system that restricts the yuan's daily fluctuations to a narrow band against the dollar.
New statistics on China's soaring trade surplus have given ammunition to US critics of its trade record.
The US Commerce Department reported this week that the nation's trade deficit with China last month widened by 6.1 percent to US$24.4 billion.
On Monday, US Trade Rep-resentative Susan Schwab, a member of Paulson's delegation, released a report accusing China of failing to live up to its WTO market-opening commitments. It warned that Washington would not hesitate to seek sanctions.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was