U.S., China to Hold Economic Talks

A worker makes stuffed animals at a toy company in Nanjing, China's Jiangsu province Thursday April 12, 2007. China says it is trying to cut its trade gap, which is growing amid surging exports of everything from consumer electronics to toys and clothing.(AP Photo/Color China Photo) (AP)

WASHINGTON -- U.S. and Chinese officials plan to meet Monday to discuss ways to improve economic ties that have been strained by a soaring trade gap and Bush administration penalties against Beijing.

The Treasury Department said the countries would hold a daylong meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Economic Committee. In a break from past sessions, the talks will not feature the top economic policymakers from either nation.

China said this week that Finance Minister Jin Renqing and Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan would miss upcoming finance meetings in Washington because the officials were too busy with domestic matters.

That announcement followed a U.S. decision to take a tougher line on Chinese trade practices. The administration abandoned 23 years of trade precedent when it punished China in a dispute involving government subsidies to Chinese paper manufacturers.

This past Monday, the administration announced the filing of two new trade cases against China before the World Trade Organization. The U.S. accuses the Chinese government of unfairly blocking sales of American-made movies, music and books and failing to crack down on rampant copyright piracy.

Chinese officials have denounced the U.S. trade actions. But Treasury Undersecretary Timothy Adams said those cases were not cited by the Chinese as reasons top officials will miss next week's meetings.

Adams said the trade cases were a part of a normal process by which the United States enforces its trade laws.

"It would be unusual if you didn't have some hiccups" in relations with major trading partners, Adams said at a news conference Thursday.

The U.S. delegation at the talks will be led by Clay Lowery, assistant treasury secretary for international affairs. Leading the Chinese team will be led by Li Yong, a vice minister in the Finance Ministry.

This forum started more than a decade ago. The last talks included then-Treasury Secretary John Snow and then-Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who met with their counterparts in Beijing in October 2005.

Since taking office last July, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has undertaken another series of high-level talks _ first in Beijing in December with a second round scheduled for Washington in May.

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