The US and China reached agreements on several contentious trade issues as the Bush administration sought to demonstrate resolve in attacking America's soaring trade gap.
China pledged on Wednesday to take steps ranging from cracking down on rampant copyright piracy of American products, such as movies and computer programs, to opening up the country's complicated goods distribution system to foreign firms.
PHOTO: AFP
Another set of agreements dealt with promises China made to ensure its adoption of new standards for wireless computer and mobile phone transmissions will be fair to US companies.
The agreements were reached during a meeting of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade and unveiled at a joint news conference with US and Chinese officials.
Commerce Secretary Don Evans, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick represented the US The 70-member Chinese delegation was led by Vice Premier Wu Yi (
"This is a landmark day and a very fruitful day in terms of the developing relationship between the United States and China," Evans said at a signing ceremony at the US Department of Commerce.
Administration officials had no estimate of how much impact the new trade deals would have on exports of US manufactured goods to China or on America's soaring deficit with China, which last year hit US$124 billion -- the largest imbalance the US has ever recorded with any country.
The Chinese presented the US with an action plan detailing steps it intended to take to crack down on what US industry says is the rampant piracy and counterfeiting of American products. The plan included stiffer criminal penalties and promised nationwide enforcement actions.
China also pledged to accelerate commitments it made as part of its entry into the WTO to open up its distribution system by allowing US companies to distribute their own products to Chinese stores without having to go through a state-owned distribution company.
For its part, the administration agreed to a Chinese demand for reconsideration of certain high-technology products that American companies are banned from exporting to China on the grounds they could be diverted to military uses.
Evans said the list of banned products would be reviewed after US officials are allowed to make inspection visits to Chinese factories where the products will be used.
US industry praised the agreements that were reached but said it would be critical for the administration to make sure the Chinese fulfilled their commitments.
"We expect these measures to have a significant impact on piracy in China," said Jack Valenti, the chairman of the Motion Picture Association.
Not all US groups were pleased. The American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) said that the administration needed to press the Chinese government to respect workers' fundamental rights.
The administration must decide by April 30 whether to accept the labor federation's petition to launch an investigation into China's labor practices.
Asked about the union's contention of massive violations of Chinese workers' rights, Wu called the allegations "completely groundless" and said she was issuing an invitation to the AFL-CIO to come to China for an "on-the-spot evaluation" of labor conditions there.
Senator John Kerry said the administration had dropped the ball on the biggest trade issue with China -- the country's practice of tightly linking the yuan to the dollar.
Administration officials said the currency issue is being handled by the Treasury Department and was not a subject of Wednesday's meetings.
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