| US Commerce Secretary Gutierrez visits China |
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| Friday,June 03,2005 Posted: 09:19 BJT(0119 GMT) |
US Commerce secretary Carlos Gutierrez said yesterday that he would explain his country's stance towards safeguard measures imposed against Chinese textile products to senior officials in Beijing.
Gutierrez, who arrived in the capital yesterday, is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart, Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai, and Vice-Premier Wu Yi tomorrow.
Their discussions are expected to cover all key topics, including friction over textile trade, intellectual property rights and the renminbi exchange-rate reform.
This visit comes amidst growing tension over textile trade between the two countries.
Claiming that textile imports from China had hurt its domestic market, the US Government has imposed safeguard measures on three categories of Chinese textile products and is to apply similar measures on another four categories.
The US restrictions affect US$2 billion worth of Chinese textile exports and 160,000 jobs, statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce show.
Stressing that the safeguard measures were temporary, Gutierrez said China and the United States, the two main drivers of the global economy, should help each other on trade issues because both sides were facing pressure.
During his three-day visit, the two sides will lay the groundwork for the next session of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, scheduled to be held in July in Beijing.
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Bilateral Visits
