U.S. may OK hi-tech exports to China

BEIJING, July 30 -- The U.S. has agreed to loosen restrictions on the export of hi-tech goods to China and speed up its recognition of the nation's market economy, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan said on Tuesday after the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (SAED).

"The U.S. pledged to facilitate exports of high-technology products from the U.S. to China," he said, while calling the SAED a "full success".

Sino-U.S. trade has grown massively since China "opened up" 30 years ago. Last year - in spite of a seven-year low in China's rate of growth because of the global financial crisis - the volume of trade between the countries amounted to 333.7 billion U.S. dollars. The number was 2.5 billion U.S. dollars 30 years ago.

However, despite the massive volume of trade, the U.S. suffers from a significant trade deficit with China and has blamed China's "undervalued" yuan for the fact that more goods flow from China into the U.S. than in the other direction.

Analysts have said the reluctance of the U.S. to export hi-tech products is partly to blame and noted that unrestricted sales of hi-tech goods would help balance bilateral trade.

Wang said China and the U.S. agreed to "accelerate" the implementation of the Guidelines for China-U.S. High Technology and Strategic Trade Development and formulate the Action Plan on Expansion of China-U.S. High Technology and Strategic Trade Cooperation in Priority Sectors, which analysts say will encourage the export to China of hi-tech goods.

The U.S. also recognized the "continued progress" China has made in its pursuit of market reforms and will "earnestly" consider its concerns, and work toward its market economy status being acknowledged in an "expeditious" way, U.S. officials said.

Deputy Minister of Commerce Ma Xiuhong said both sides were conscious of the solid progress China had made in transitioning from a planned economy to a market-oriented one in the past 30 years.