Chinese on Buying Trip in U.S. Seek to Pave Way for Leader

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April 6, 2006
Chinese on Buying Trip in U.S. Seek to Pave Way for Leader
By JOSEPH KAHN
BEIJING, April 5 — Chinese leaders, eager to improve relations with the United States ahead of the maiden visit there by President Hu Jintao this month, have dispatched a large delegation of business and economic officials to display China's buying power and to cool protectionist sentiment in Congress, Chinese officials said Wednesday.

The buying mission, the largest by China since re-establishing diplomatic relations with the United States in 1979, reflects Beijing's view that it may be easier to try to lower economic tensions than to satisfy some other American demands, like doing more to help curtail nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea and reducing human rights abuses at home.

More than 100 business executives joined Wu Yi, China's vice prime minister and economic troubleshooter, on an American tour that began Tuesday in Hawaii and is scheduled to cover 13 states. The trip is expected to result in multibillion-dollar orders for Boeing aircraft, auto parts, computer software, telecommunications equipment, grain, cotton and other products, Chinese officials and the state news media said.

China has practiced such checkbook diplomacy before, notably during the prolonged fight to win American support for its entry into the World Trade Organization in the late 1990's. But a senior Foreign Ministry official described the latest mission as "very big," and noted that it included representatives from a wide range of state-owned and private businesses who do not typically travel with senior Chinese leaders.

"We do want to show the United States that trading ties are mutually beneficial, and we hope people will take notice," said the senior Foreign Ministry official, who said he could discuss the matter only if he were not identified by name. "Our message is that common interests are on the increase, and the basis of the bilateral relationship is being constantly strengthened," he said.

President Hu will visit the United States April 18 through 22 and will visit the White House for the first time since becoming China's Communist Party chief in 2002 and president in 2003. Chinese officials are eager to ensure a positive reception for Mr. Hu and to demonstrate that he can keep China's most delicate diplomatic relationship on an even keel.

Last year China piled up a $200 billion trade surplus with the United States, a record trade gap for Washington with any one nation. The deficit has prompted Congressional proposals for tariffs on Chinese imports unless Beijing moves faster to raise the value of its currency, the yuan, which some critics say is kept artificially low, giving China's exports an unfair edge in world markets.

Bush administration officials have said for months that Chinese leaders have been underestimating the surge of anti-China sentiment in Congress and among some influential interest groups. They have pressed Beijing to increase imports from the United States, allow the yuan to appreciate faster and do more to stop rampant violations of American copyrights and trademarks by Chinese companies and government entities.

China has ruled out sudden shifts in currency policy, insisting it will move steadily, but gradually, toward a market-driven exchange rate.

Officials here have signaled a willingness to do more to protect intellectual property rights. They have publicized fines imposed on Chinese companies that use pirated software. They have said they may also commit to purchases of American software for government computers.

The biggest action is on trade, with China expected to order at least 80 Boeing aircraft, state media have reported. It could also commit to unprecedented purchases of agricultural commodities and telecommunications equipment to upgrade its fixed-line and mobile phone networks.

The trade delegation, which includes representatives of a dozen government ministries, hopes to establish long-term ties with companies in the American heartland to promote imports in the future, the Foreign Ministry official said.

"We would like to emphasize that this is not a one off," the official said.

The effort to ease trade tensions is being made although Chinese officials and some independent analysts contend the current economic relationship, even with the trade deficit, strongly favors the United States.

Chinese officials point out that China is now the United States' fourth-largest export market, with United States exports to China expanding at a 21.5 percent annual pace since 2001.

Officials have cited academic studies showing that if not for inexpensive Chinese goods, American businesses and consumers would pay as much as $100 billion more for such products made elsewhere. They say much of the profit from manufacturing in China goes to American and other foreign companies and patent holders who assemble goods and license technology in China.

"The general feeling here is that the trade deficit does not really come at the U.S. expense," said Jia Qingguo, a specialist in international relations at Beijing University. "The U.S. makes money at every stage of Chinese production."

But he said China was eager to help President Bush ease protectionist pressures in the United States and improve the atmosphere for discussing more contentious matters.