Chinese Premier Tells U.S. to Keep Politics Out of Trade
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Wen, who earlier in the day had rung the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange, told a group of U.S. bankers in New York that he had not come "to fight a trade war," despite heightened bilateral trade tensions.
Frictions include U.S. concerns that China is keeping its currency artificially weak against the dollar, intellectual property rights (IPR) violations and, above all, China's huge trade surplus with the United States.
On a visit to China in October, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans had said U.S. patience with the trade imbalance was "wearing thin" and threatened to close off U.S. markets to China's exports if Beijing failed to make greater efforts to open its doors.
Wen warned that any attempt to reduce Chinese exports would harm both countries, and especially U.S. firms operating in China.
"A more realistic solution is for the U.S. to expand its exports to China," the premier said, adding that China planned to import over one trillion dollars worth of goods from around the world over the next three years.
Wen specifically cited China's displeasure with U.S. restrictions on the export to China of high-tech products deemed to have potential non-civilian applications.
Prior to Wen's address, both Chinese ministers addressed criticism that Beijing's control of foreign exchange rates had aggravated the trade surplus by keeping the renminbi artificially low against the dollar.
Ma Kai acknowledged the need for reform but said change could only come gradually. Ma Xiuhong, meanwhile, argued that growing Chinese exports to the United States had "created room for job creation in the United States rather than job losses."
U.S. officials said Bush would push Wen to open the Chinese market wider to U.S. exports and push for action on runaway software piracy in China.