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.
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