Reuters AlertNet Lite - China warns U.S. against trade "confrontation"

Reuters AlertNet Full site

NEWSDESK

China warns U.S. against trade "confrontation"

24 May 2007 04:05:26 GMT
Source: Reuters

BEIJING, May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. "confrontation" with China will not solve trade friction between the two economic giants, Chinese state media said on Thursday, urging greater cooperation after talks failed to resolve key sticking points.

The China Daily said in an editorial that both countries bore responsibility for the trade gap between them and warned against U.S. impatience for a rapid cure.

"The dialogue made it clear that a confrontational approach focusing on so-called immediate results only complicates the situation and adds nothing to problem solving," it said.

China's economic growth was indeed too dependent on exports, it said, but it was also "all too obvious that the U.S. consumers spend too much and save too little, resulting in their country's current account deficit".

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson claimed "tangible results" at the end of a "strategic economic dialogue" with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi in Washington on Wednesday.

But while economic policy chiefs from the two nations struck deals on civil aviation and financial sector access in their second such meeting, they made no headway on the volatile issue of Chinese currency reform, fuelling anger on Capitol Hill.

U.S. lawmakers said they would push forward proposals to slap tariffs on Chinese imports. They hope to force Beijing to revalue its yuan currency and redress the huge trade imbalance between the two pillars of global economic growth.

In July 2005, Beijing abandoned an 11-year-old practice of holding the yuan fixed against the dollar and revalued it by 2.1 percent.

Since then it has risen a further 6 percent, frustrating U.S. legislators worried about their country's trade deficit with China, which hit a record $233 billion last year.

The Chinese paper said "protectionism" could not fix the trade imbalance. "What's needed are painful but necessary structural changes in the two countries' economies."

AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article Send comments

Countries

Small country map
© 2004 Europa Technologies Ltd.

Reset map

• China profile
· View map

MORE >>

NGO latest

• Red Cross Awards Charity for Relief Donations!
Children Intl - USA

• The forgotten of the forgotten: Recovering from Hurricane Rita
CWS

• Rita, 'The forgotten disaster'
CWS

• Governor Recognizes Two Top Students!
Children Intl - USA

• Plan launched a worldwide camapign calling for action on girls' rights abuses
Plan UK

MORE >>

Latest news

• China warns U.S. against trade "confrontation"

• WITNESS-A touch of outer space in the Kazakh steppe

• ADVISORY-Reuters Witness story from the Baikonur Cosmodrome

• Sri Lanka says blast on bus near Colombo port

• China's capital to step up food safety vigilance

MORE >>

Last updated:Thu May 24 04:18:08 2007