Washington -- China and
the United States wrapped up their annual trade negotiations here Tuesday with
consensus reached on a series of issues.
Chinese Vice-Premier
Wu Yi (C) co-chairs the 17th meeting of the Sino-US Joint Commission on
Commerce and Trade with US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez (L) and
Trade Representative Rob Portman in Washington on April 11, 2006.
[Xinhua] |
At the day-long meeting, the two
sides agreed that the China-US High Technology and Strategic Item Trading
Working Group will be established under the China-U.S. Joint Commission on
Commerce and Trade (JCCT) framework, the officials said at a press conference on
Tuesday.
The two sides also agreed to continue the Informal Steel Dialogue, start and
strengthen the intellectual property protection mechanism, and further enhance
cooperation in the sector of tourism.
In addition, China agreed to conditionally resume imports of US beef, while
the United States said it would push ahead with the lifting of the ban on
importing processed poultry meat from China.
The 17th JCCT meeting was jointly chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and
US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and US Trade Representative Robert
Portman.
Stressing that economic and trade cooperation is an important component of
Sino-U.S. relations, Wu Yi said that the 17th JCCT meeting reflected the spirits
of "Mutual benefit, development and win-win" and demonstrated the will of both
sides to properly solve problems through equal consultations and to promote the
steady development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations through
strengthened cooperation.
Noting that China has been making efforts to promote the balanced development
of trade between the two countries, the Chinese vice premier said it needs joint
efforts from both sides to resolve the bilateral trade imbalance.
Wu said relaxing restrictions on exporting high-tech products to China from
the US side will be conducive to achieving a trade balance between the two
countries.
On the intellectual property protection, Wu said China has attached
importance to the issue and taken a series of measures to address it, adding
that marked progress has been made in this regard.
The intellectual property protection is a common issue facing many countries
around the world and international cooperation, communication and coordination
as well joint efforts are needed to address the issue, Wu said.
The U.S. side said economic and trade relations between the two countries are
the most important ones in the world, and the JCCT has become an important
platform and consultation mechanism for bilateral economic and trade relations.
Describing the discussions at the 17th JCCT meeting as frank and
constructive, the U.S. side said the meeting yielded important results, which
will contribute to the fair, sustained and balanced development of economic and
trade relations between the two countries.
The US side also said it will enhance and promote the high-tech trade between
the two sides.
Established in 1983, the JCCT is a government-to-government consultation
mechanism that provides a forum for addressing trade concerns and pursuing
bilateral commercial opportunities.