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两党竞相提议征反补贴税 对华贸易成美政坛棋子

NEWS.SOHU.COM 　　2005年07月18日07:19　　第一财经日报

　　针对中美之间的贸易纠纷，美国政界近日又发动了新一波攻势。

　　7月14日，美国众院两党的议员在同一天竞相提出提案，要求美国政府在贸易问题上对中国采取系列措施。两党的提案均主张对中国使用反补贴法。由于众院目前正在极力推动中美洲自由贸易协定过关，两党的新提案很可能将与此挂钩，使得提案获得通过的可能性大增。

　　据悉，由共和党控制的众院领袖已表示对提案予以支持，但美国白宫则对此持审慎态度。

　　挤压中国商品的又一手段

　　当天，来自宾州的共和党议员英格利希(PhilEnglish)专门举行记者招待会，推销他的新提案。该提案是个综合性的一揽子方案，内容广泛，其中的要害之处则是扩大反补贴法的适用范围，从而可以对中国商品征收反补贴税。

　　这项新提案的其他内容还包括，建立一个综合性的机制，加强对中国执行贸易承诺的监督；要求财政部就界定汇率操纵问题向国会递交报告；以及对涉及反倾销案的托运人，冻结三年的保证金，并要求交纳现金作为抵押等。

　　同一天，民主党方面也由筹款委员会民主党首席议员兰戈尔(CharlesRangel)领衔，提出一个针对中国的综合性贸易提案。该提案也要求对中国应用反补贴法。

　　民主党方面声称，他们的提案比共和党更严厉，不但要求对目前的贸易法规作出修改，允许美国就汇率操纵采取行动，而且还涵盖了共和党提案没有的更多内容。

　　此前一天，美国商务部刚刚公布，美国对华贸易逆差在5月份达到158亿美元，为今年以来最高。两党因此均借此时机，争相推出提案。

　　根据美国商务部在上世纪80年代中期的决定，美国的反补贴法不适用于非市场经济的国家。这一决定得到了联邦法院的确认，要变更这一法规，就必须通过国会就此专门立法。而根据中国加入世贸组织时的协定，中国可以在入世后的15年内保持非市场经济国家地位，因此，目前中国在事实上并不受到反补贴法的规限。

　　如果提案获得通过，美国企业就又增加了一个针对中国商品的手段，可以要求政府调查中国企业是否接受了政府补贴，然后据此施加反补贴税。

　　贸易下的政治玄机

　　提出该项提案的英格利希一直在不遗余力地推出多项针对中国的贸易提案。上月，他刚刚提出一项提案，要求财政部在60天内对中国的人民币汇率政策进行审查。他此次提出的新提案，得到了有很大权力的众院筹款委员会主席托马斯(BillThomas)的支持，因此来势更加凶猛。

　　中美洲自由贸易协定是布什政府目前正在全力冲刺的一个重大目标。该协定在众院方面出自托马斯领导的筹款委员会，因此托马斯守土有责，需要确保协定在众院通过。该协定上月在参院以微弱多数过关，但在众院却遇到更大阻力，目前尚未能够争取到足够的支持票数，英格利希就是反对者之一。

　　在出席英格利希14日的记者会上，托马斯掩饰说，这项提案比之前的版本更负责任，但他也并不否认，由于英格利希坚持将该提案与中美洲自由贸易协定挂钩，为换取英格利希对中美洲自由贸易协定投赞成票，他才因此由先前反对这项提案转为支持。

　　至于新提案何时付诸表决，托马斯没有作出明确答复，但是他表示，众院将会在就中美洲自由贸易协定投票前作出表决，以化解反对该协定的议员们的怨气。

　　而对于民主党提出的提案，筹款委员会民主党方面的贸易顾问荷维格(JulieE.Her-wig)对记者表示，在目前众院由共和党控制的情况下，民主党提案能够付诸全院表决的可能性不如共和党的提案。

　　实际上，美国国会一直在极力推动将反补贴法适用于中国的立法，近年来提出了多项有关的提案，但行政部门一直对此态度消极。

　　针对共、民两党相继提出的提案，白宫方面则拒绝对此加以评论。白宫称，由于法案刚刚提出，行政部门还需要时间进行通盘分析，然后才能作出评论。美国贸易代表署则表示，对提案存在担心，目前正在研究当中。

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http://business.sohu.com/20050718/n226342722.shtml

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document
Copyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

July 26, 2005 Tuesday
London Edition 1

SECTION: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY; Pg. 12

LENGTH: 432 words

HEADLINE: CHINA CUTS EXPORT TARIFFS AS EUROPEAN UNION HINTS AT ALLOWING MORE TEXTILE IMPORTS TO SAFEGUARD RETAILERS' STOCK

BYLINE: By ALAN BEATTIE and ALEXANDRA HARNEY

DATELINE: HONG KONG and LONDON

BODY:


China cut export tariffs on 17 types of textiles restricted by the European Union yesterday as the EU hinted that it might allow in more Chinese imports than originally agreed to avert the risk of Europe's retailers being left with empty shelves, report Alexandra Harney in Hong Kong and Alan Beattie in London.

A statement posted on the Chinese finance ministry's website yesterday said that export tariffs on wool-knit coats, wool trousers and other goods would be lifted from August 1.

China introduced export tariffs on 148 categories of textiles in January and raised them sharply in May in an effort to head off import curbs from the US and EU amid a deepening global trade row. It cancelled some of these in late May. Last month Beijing agreed with the EU to limit annual growth in its textile exports for the next three years.

Separately, the EU signalled a possible compromise over curbs on imported Chinese-made sweaters yesterday after protests from European retailers who note that a quota agreed last month has already been reached, leaving millions of garments stranded on ships or at airports.

Ralph Kamphoner, senior adviser on international trade at EuroCommerce, an association of retailers and wholesalers, said: "There is a very real risk for traders who have already signed contracts and did not expect that the quota would be filled so quickly. Shops may well be left with empty shelves later in the year."

The quota for sweaters had been filled much more quickly than for other categories of textiles, Mr Kamphoner said, catching some importers and retailers by surprise.

Acknowledging these concerns, Claude Veron-Reville, spokesman for the EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, said yesterday: "We're discussing with China and the member states whether there's a need for flexibility."

Chinese textile exports have surged since a decades-old global quota system was dismantled in January.

The US has restrained yearly increases in certain categories of Chinese textile shipments to 7.5 per cent.

China has indicated that it would remove tariffs for any country that restrains its exports, as that would impose a double penalty on exporters. "In a way, it's reacting to the actions being taken (by China's trading partners)," said Willy Lin, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Textile Council.

China's decision to cut export duty shaves off a layer of cost for exporters. It appears to affect exports to all markets, so that companies shipping to other countries, such as Japan, which have not imposed restraints on China's textile shipments could potentially benefit, Mr Lin said.

LOAD-DATE: July 25, 2005

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - DocumentCopyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

March 3, 2005 Thursday
USA Edition 2

SECTION: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR; Pg. 16

LENGTH: 318 words

HEADLINE: EU wrong to seek limits on China's textile exports

BYLINE: By THOMAS OSTROS

BODY:


From Mr Thomas Ostros.

Sir, As you rightly point out in your editorial "The EU, China and 'fair' trade" (February 25), the new tone set by the European Union against China in the area of trade in textiles is regrettable. During a recent visit to China, Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, took the opportunity to emphasise that China does indeed, like any other member of the World Trade Organisation, have rights and obligations under the WTO agreement. One obligation is to not restrict trade. By joining the WTO, China has thus fortunately agreed not to put restrictions on its exports to us. The EU should not ask China to do so; it would be in the interest of neither China nor the EU.

Sweden has, since joining the EU, been at the forefront of advocating a liberal European trade regime. Together with other like-minded members of the Union, Sweden has continuously and consistently opposed restrictions to trade, such as excessive use of safeguards and antidumping measures. The Swedish government believes that free trade, including free trade with China, is beneficial to the people of Europe. Trade should also work in the service of development. Therefore, Sweden has advocated bringing trade in textiles and clothing, an industry of immense importance to the developing world, including China, under the regular rules for trade in goods.

We will continue to work with our allies within Europe to stall the forces that are continuously lobbying for protection, most recently in the area of textiles from China. Those in Europe working for free trade need to work together. Any efforts to persuade China "voluntarily" to restrict its trade would not only hurt the European consumers, it would run quite contrary to idea of "partnership and responsibility" that, as Mr Mandelson pointed out, the EU and China should share in the global economy.

Thomas Ostros, Minister for Industry and Trade, Sweden

LOAD-DATE: March 2, 2005

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

Copyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

July 8, 2005 Friday
London Edition 1

SECTION: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR; Pg. 18

LENGTH: 205 words

HEADLINE: All countries must adhere to WTO rules

BYLINE: By MORRIS D

BODY:


From Mr D. Morris.

Sir, Your main editorial "Time to stop dumping on China" (July 6) is both surprising and misleading.

Anti-dumping cases are only lodged by European industry with the Commission authorities when there is a blatant disregard by exporters for World Trade Organisation rules, and are rigorously examined by the Commission authorities before initiation. The methodology is transparent, and is not open to unfair manipulation. The dice are not loaded against any individual country as WTO rules are non-discriminatory.

Regarding market economy status being granted to China, it is very apparent that in some instances companies that are granted market economy treatment funnel product from other companies to circumvent duties. Another approach is transhipment through third countries.

Were market economy status to be granted to China, anti-dumping duties imposed might be reduced. However, since many companies receive illegal subsidies there would be a proportionate increase in countervailing and circumvention measures to ensure that WTO rules are respected. All countries and all companies must adhere to WTO rules.

D. Morris,

Head of Economics,

International Rayon and Synthetic Fibres Committee,

B-1160 Brussels, Belgium

LOAD-DATE: July 7, 2005

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

Copyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

July 14, 2005 Thursday
London Edition 1

SECTION: WORLD NEWS; Pg. 8

LENGTH: 455 words

HEADLINE: Barroso begins visit to China as strain shows over trade relations

BYLINE: By DANIEL DOMBEY and RAPHAEL MINDER

DATELINE: BRUSSELS

BODY:


The uneasy relationship between the European Union and Beijing is set to be tested today as Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission president, begins a five-day trip to China.

EU officials are fascinated by China's growing economic strength but the relationship has been strained in recent months.

"The EU has just surpassed the US to become China's largest trading partner. And China is our second largest," Mr Barroso said on the eve of his visit. "Our challenge now is to understand China's dramatic re- emergence (and) to learn to work better with this tremendous country."

But the EU has not granted China either of its key demands. In May last year Wen Jiabao, China's prime minister, visited Brussels to ask for two things: the lifting of the EU's arms embargo on Beijing and for the granting of market economy status, a classification that would make it harder for the EU to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese goods.

A ferocious US lobbying campaign deterred the EU from lifting the embargo, although even diplomats from the UK, Washington's closest ally in the EU, say that the issue will return to the EU agenda, perhaps early next year.

The Commission has also insisted that China does not yet meet the criteria to be granted market economy status, which it claims must be awarded on purely technical criteria.

But in 2002, in an announcement timed to coincide with an EU-Russia summit, the EU gave market economy status to Russia, a move seen as political since Russia, unlike China, is not a member of the World Trade Organisation.

Alan Johnson, UK trade minister, said yesterday he hoped China would be given the status in time for an EU-China summit in September. But the British position is increasingly at odds with that of other EU countries, which have growing concerns about China's fast-growing exports of textiles and other manufactured goods.

Last year the EU registered a trade deficit of Euros 78bn (Dollars 95bn, Pounds 54bn) with China, its biggest with any single partner. Total two-way trade was worth Euros 174bn.

Unice, the European employers' association, wrote to Mr Barroso this week, urging him not to cede the status to China. Unice said China needed to make progress in financial sector reform and another five areas before it could be granted.

Unice also warned against allowing political moti-vations to influence that decision and treating China's application differently from other countries that want to be upgraded to market economy status.

The letter said: "If the EU wants to show leadership on the international trade scene, it should adhere to clear trade policy principles in the way that it handles its trade policy. Any other approach would send a negative signal to all our trade partners."

LOAD-DATE: July 14, 2005

Los Angeles Times: China to Increase Piracy Prosecutions

Los Angeles Times: China to Increase Piracy Prosecutions

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china12jul12,1,3814795.story

China to Increase Piracy Prosecutions
It pledges to curb counterfeiting and delay government software rules, the U.S. says.
From Bloomberg News

July 12, 2005

China agreed to increase criminal prosecutions of pirates of copyrighted movies and music and to delay imposing rules that would make it harder for U.S. software companies to sell to the Chinese government, the U.S. said Monday.

At a trade summit in Beijing, Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi made pledges to curb counterfeiting, including coordinating with U.S. customs and FBI agents to stem exports of illegal copies of movies, razors, auto parts and pharmaceuticals, the U.S. government said.

"We have seen progress, but the real outcome of this meeting will be known only when we see the results in the months ahead," U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said. "We will monitor all commitments closely."

In addition to the pledges on intellectual property, China said it would delay rules drafted in April that would require government offices to show preference to domestic companies when buying software. Government purchases account for about 10% of Chinese software sales, according to market research firm IDC.

Before the meeting, the U.S.-China Business Council and the Business Software Alliance, which represents Microsoft Corp. and other software companies, said they wanted the outright repeal of the procurement rules, which had been issued in draft form.

"We need to continue to work with China to have these rules shelved or revised to reflect international procurement practices that allow American companies to participate," said John Frisbie, president of the U.S.-China Business Council.

The Motion Picture Assn. of America said it would sign a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese government this week on an enforcement initiative aimed at movie pirates. Still, the industry wants China to lift a cap on the number of U.S. movies that can be shown legally in China each year.

"It is impossible to fight piracy effectively when there are so many barriers to legal product entering the market," said Daniel Glickman, the association's president. More than 95% of the DVDs sold in China are pirated, the MPAA estimates.

No agreement was reached Monday on the surge in Chinese textile imports into the U.S. Chinese exporters Saturday reached a cap that the U.S. imposed about two months earlier on imports of knit shirts and underwear.

China's exports surged a higher-than-expected 30.6% in June from a year earlier, reaching $66 billion, the government said Monday.


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Beijing Vows Action To Combat Piracy --- Washington Calls Measures An Incremental Package; A Bid to Avert New Tariffs

By Neil King Jr.
961 words
12 July 2005
The Asian Wall Street Journal
A1
English
(c) 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. To see the edition in which this article appeared, click here http://awsj.com.hk/factiva-ns

BEIJING -- China agreed to take steps to crack down on piracy of U.S. products as part of a package of incremental market reforms meant to ease mounting anti-China sentiment in the U.S. Congress.

Taking a tough tone at the end of a one-day round of trade talks here, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez called the measures "only one step," and said the Bush administration would watch closely in coming months to "be sure that commitments translate into results."

Both the Bush administration and the Chinese government are eager to deflect calls in Congress to impose punitive tariffs or other protections against soaring Chinese exports to the U.S. One sign of progress, the U.S. delegation said, would be a decrease in the growing U.S. trade deficit with China, which topped $160 billion last year and has been widening even more briskly this year.

The meetings didn't address such hot-button issues as China's fixed monetary system, which some critics say gives Chinese exports an unfair edge, or the proposed $18.5 billion purchase of U.S. oil company Unocal Corp. by a Chinese rival, Cnooc Ltd., which has raised public anxieties in the U.S. Instead, the focus was squarely on stemming China's frequent violations of international patent and trademark rules, a chief trade irritant that costs U.S. companies billions of dollars in lost sales.

Yesterday's talks, part of the annual U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, also included U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, along with Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi.

After the meetings, U.S. officials outlined the new steps that China promised to take, several of which remained vague.

The Chinese government agreed to increase the number of criminal prosecutions for intellectual-property violations and to conduct more robust raids against counterfeit goods at trade fairs and against any movie DVDs being sold in China before their official release. Copies of "War of the Worlds," for example, have been selling briskly in Beijing for more than a week even though the movie has just begun playing in theaters. China also promised to implement new rules that would allow officials to arrest and prosecute people who are exporting counterfeit goods. Chinese counterfeits of U.S.-branded products, ranging from car parts to adhesives and golf clubs, have eroded sales of their legitimate U.S.-made versions in many parts of the world.

On the agricultural front, the Chinese agreed to allow in the last remaining strain of U.S. genetically modified corn, a type sold by Monsanto Co. and known as NK603. U.S. officials said the move was significant because lack of approval for this variety, one of eight now allowed in, threatened to hold up future sales of U.S. corn. China so far imports no significant amount of U.S. corn, but that could change as the market grows.

The U.S. negotiators temporarily defused a looming battle over U.S. software sales to China. Under impending regulations, Chinese government agencies would be required to purchase only domestic computer software in a bid to give the nascent industry a boost. The U.S. estimates that the government software market totals more than $8 billion.

The Chinese government, according to a U.S. statement, agreed to delay issuing software rules "as it further considers public comments and makes revisions" in keeping with World Trade Organization rules. The Bush administration, meanwhile, hopes to nudge Beijing into joining the WTO government-procurement agreement, which would open its software market to outside competition.

On other fronts, the Chinese agreed to put forward rules to open their market for the first time to direct door-to-door sales by companies such as Amway Corp. or Mary Kay Inc., the U.S. cosmetics company. China also agreed to publish, by the end of the year, a detailed list of all forms of subsidies it offers to business and agriculture, as is required of other members of the WTO.

China also said it would appoint an "ombudsman" to its embassy in Washington to deal in particular with U.S. complaints over trademark piracy and counterfeiting.

Chinese officials declined to discuss yesterday's talks, but some have said recently that the government has already taken steps to crack down on piracy. Beijing passed new laws last year extending the range of criminal violations, and it has conducted a number of high-profile raids against factories and shops selling fakes.

But U.S. officials said much remains to be done on the piracy front and that actions over the last year, while welcome, have hardly made a dent. "I'd give them a good grade on effort but not on outcome," said Mr. Portman, the top U.S. trade official and, until recently, a member of Congress. "I commend them for trying, but in other places like Hong Kong and Korea there has been much more success."

Mr. Portman said the U.S. would keep a close eye on the number of piracy prosecutions. But he said the best measure of success "will be an increase of sales of U.S. trademarked and patented products."

Lu Jinyong, a professor of international trade at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said China is evolving quickly on the piracy issue. "China also has realized the importance of protecting intellectual property rights," he said. "Rampant piracy not only hurts foreign brands, but also handicaps China's own innovation capability."

---

Qiu Haixu contributed to this article.

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中美磋商进展重大 美拟慎用纺织品特别限制措施


NEWS.SOHU.COM 　　2005年07月11日21:20　　中国新闻网


　　中新社北京七月十一日电 (记者翁阳) 在今天于此间举行的第十六届中美商贸联委会上，中美双方就加强双边经贸合作，妥善处理经贸问题深入、坦诚地交换了意见，达成多项共识，取得了重要进展。中国国务院副总理吴仪出席本届联委会，并与来访的美国商务部长古铁雷斯和贸易代表波特曼共同主持会议。

　　在当前处于“风口浪尖”的纺织品问题上，中美双方虽未在本届联委会上取得突破性成果，但美方表示将慎重对华使用纺织品特别限制措施。双方表示，愿以积极负责的态度，尽快就纺织品问题进行实质性磋商。

　　对于加大知识产权保护力度之问题，中方全面介绍了落实第十五届中美商贸联委会有关共识所作出的巨大努力和正在或将要采取的多项措施。此外，中方还提出了中医药、传统知识、遗传资源的知识产权保护问题。

　　在本届联委会上，中美双方就政府采购、放宽出口管制、汽车零部件关税等议题广泛、深入、坦诚地交换了意见；双方同意建立跨境知识产权侵犯犯罪执法合作机制、电影版权保护合作机制、证券监管机构对话机制；双方宣布在商贸联委会机制下建立旅游合作组；通过协商、双方在农产品贸易、中国市场经济地位、分销服务、贸易投资促进等议题上也取得了积极进展。

　　据与会人士透露，今日联委会中美双方未就人民币汇率问题进行讨论。

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　　美国农业部长约翰斯和中国商务部长薄熙来、国家质检总局局长李长江、发展改革委员会副主任张国宝及外交部等十八个部门的负责人出席了联委会。

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美国商务部长古铁雷斯要求中国进一步开放市场


NEWS.SOHU.COM 　　2005年07月12日00:51　　中国青年报


　　7月11日，中美主管经贸的高官聚在一起，谈了整整一天。晚上的新闻发布会上，三位美国高官均表情严肃，但言谈间显示美国代表团此次北京之行收获不小，农业部长迈克·约翰斯用“非常成功”来形容这次中美会晤。

　　这是中美商业贸易联合委员会自成立以来的第16次会议，中方由国务院副总理吴仪率队，美方派来了商务部长卡洛斯·古铁雷斯、贸易代表罗伯特·波特曼和农业部长迈克·约翰斯等三位高官。古铁雷斯对记者表示，会谈取得了两项成果，但他强调，中国产品全面进入美国市场，美国产品却不能全面进入中国市场，他要求中国市场进一步向美国开放。

　　古铁雷斯说：“对于美国产品全面进入中国市场，我们严重关切。中国是全球贸易体系的受惠国，同时也应该担负责任，其中包括向我们的产品和服务开放市场，就像我们向中国开放市场一样。”贸易代表波特曼也表示，美国认为中国还没有完全兑现向外国商品开放市场的承诺。

　　美国一方面要求中国全面开放市场，另一方面也以国家安全为由限制高科技产品对华出口，有记者提及这一点时，古铁雷斯列举数据说明美国禁止向中国出口的产品只占一小部分。在中海油收购优尼科这一企业行为上，美国也将其政治化，对此，古铁雷斯拒绝评论。他表示，这是国家安全领域的话题，应该由国家安全部门评估。

　　此次会谈的成果集中在美国长期关注、并一直对中国政府施压的领域：知识产权保护。古铁雷斯说，中方同意对盗版者予以刑事诉讼；他还表示，中国官员同意修改把美国供应商拒之门外的政府采购条例。

　　古铁雷斯说，中国宣布在驻美使馆设立一外交职位，专人负责处理有关知识产权的案件；另外，中美同意设立一个联合委员会，专门负责处理跨国纠纷。

　　在农产品进口方面，美国也收获颇丰，农业部长约翰斯笑着用“非常成功”来表述。他说，和中国的谈判在几大关键领域取得进展。约翰斯说：“去年，美国农场主销售到中国的产品价值60亿美元，中国成为美国农产品的第5大出口国，中美之间达成的协议可以扩大美国的商业机会。”

　　此次中美商联会，各方预测将涉及四大问题：纺织品问题、人民币汇率、知识产权保护和美国农产品出口。在中国纺织品出口问题上，本次会谈没有大的突破，美国商务部长的表态也依旧强硬５硎荆枭桃廊换峒绦芫嘎断乱徊酱枭痰氖奔浜偷氐恪?/p>

　　7月8日，中美双方技术级官员曾就美对华设限的7种纺织品举行了第二轮磋商。双方同意保持沟通渠道的畅通，继续磋商并寻求妥善解决纺织品问题的办法，双方将另行商定下一轮磋商时间。

　　中美商业贸易联合委员会于1983年建立，是中美两国之间最高层次的双边经贸磋商机制，轮流在两国首都举行会议，但由于最初达成的协议多涉及工业合作，此后又常常与政治挂钩而“走走停停”，影响力有限。2004年，国务院副总理吴仪访美，双方决定将联委会升格为副总理级别。

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中美贸易谈判的四大着疲好骋啄娌?人民币汇率


NEWS.SOHU.COM 　　2005年07月11日10:14　　新华网


　　新华网快讯：第16届中美商贸联委会11日在北京举行，国务院副总理吴仪与美国商务部长古铁雷斯、贸易代表波特曼共同主持会议。

　　周末的北京阳光明媚，却并没有为中美两国商务人士带来一丝放松，在11日召开的中美商业贸易联合委员会之前，中美商务部门及民间商贸促进团体代表举行的闭门磋商会议就有好几个：中美纺织品第二轮磋商，在联委会框架下的数个中美贸易项目谈判……

　　而迄今为止，能够确定谈判达成共识并签约的项目只有一个，即于7月11日中国贸促会会长万季飞和美国商务部常务副部长蒂姆·豪瑟将正式签署的“中国贸促会-美国商务部国际伙伴网络”项目谅解备忘录，从而在14个中国商业中心城市启动国际伙伴网络合作项目。然而，纺织品、农产品、航空……这些更多悬而未决的议题为中美贸易前景蒙上了一层神秘的面纱。

　　这次联委会不寻常

　　中美商业贸易联合委员会于1983年建立，是中美两国之间最高层次的双边经贸磋商机制，轮流在两国首都举行会议，一直是中美经贸磋商的“管道”，但由于最初达成的协议多涉及工业合作，此后又常常与政治挂钩而“走走停停”，影响力有限。2004年，国务院副总理吴仪访美，联委会升格为副总理级别，其决策权进一步扩大，并变成中美商贸新的话语表达区。

　　而中美经贸关系在中国入世以来的巨大变化则成为联委会召开的重要背景之一。据中方统计，2004年，双边贸易额1696.2亿美元，是2001年的2.1倍，美国成为中国第一大贸易伙伴，第一大出口市场、第二大技术来源国和第一大贸易顺差来源地，中国则成为美第三大贸易伙伴和第五大出口市场。在双边经贸迅速发展的同时，美对华贸易逆差持续扩大，中方统计2004年达802.7亿美元（美方统计为1620亿美元左右），比2001年净增522亿美元（美方统计净增789亿美元）。

　　中国贸促会国际联络部副部长赵振格表示，2005年以来，美对华贸易逆差继续扩大，中美贸易摩擦加剧，新的矛盾和问题突出，美国国内贸易保护主义升温，国内部分议员不断就贸易逆差、人民币汇率、知识产权问题提出涉华经贸议案（上半年就高达18件），经贸问题政治化趋势明显。而美国对中出口额在2005年1至5月期间不正常的下降则显示出美国对中出口的主要部分——服务业对于知识产权、汇率等对服务业出口影响较大的政策的观望状态。此时引入中美两国之间最高层次的双边经贸磋商机制——中美商贸联委会，无疑使中美双方在谈判中亮出了最后的底牌。

　　底牌之一：贸易逆差

　　国际商报国际商务交流中心主任，前驻旧金山、纽约总领馆经济商务参赞何伟文接受本报记者采访时说，一个时期以来，美国在探讨中美贸易问题时常常离不开“贸易不平衡”和“贸易逆差”这两个关键词。

　　据美方统计，2004年美方逆差达到1619.78亿美元（按中方统计是802.7亿美元）。因此，美国总有一些议员、协会或工会以此做依据，从三方面指责和发起行动：一是启动两反两保指控和调查，特别是对纺织品和服装；二是指责美国制造业因此在3年内减少了260多万个就业机会；三是指责人民币汇率低估。

　　“这些指责因为反复讲，似乎在美国形成了一种舆论，好像确实如此，但严格进行科学论证，发现满不是那么回事。”何伟文说，1997年到2004年的7年间，即便按美方统计，中国在美国全球贸易逆差中的比重竟然是下降的，从27.2%下降到24.9%。这一时期，美国对华逆差增长了225.5%,而对中国以外其他国家和地区贸易逆差增长了268.6%。其中对加拿大增长了272.8%；对英国、爱尔兰、巴西、韩国和南非都从顺差变成5亿到198亿美元不等的逆差。因此，美国贸易逆差主要来源不是中国。

　　2004年，美国对加拿大、墨西哥、欧盟、中南美和欧佩克贸易逆差均创纪录，原因很简单，制造业在美国逐渐让位于现代服务业，低端制造业逐渐让位于高端制造业，从而引起前者的外移和进口增加。

　　在就业上来说，2000年到2003年3年间，美国制造业确实减少了266万个岗位，但那不是中国造成的。而是它的经济周期和3年累计生产率增长15.15%的结果。按美方统计，2000年，美国对华逆差增加了151亿美元，非农业就业却增加了200.5万,生产工人失业人数则减少了6.1万；2001年，美国对华逆差减少了7.6亿美元,总就业却减少178万,生产工人失业增加了30万。2004年，对华逆差增加了380亿美元，制造业就业人数却增加了9000人（按年初数）。

　　据赵振格介绍，“中国贸促会-美国商务部国际伙伴网络”项目谅解备忘录的签署也是为了从民间商贸团体合作的角度，扩大美国对中国的出口。中国贸促会将在大连、青岛、重庆、深圳、杭州、天津、哈尔滨、武汉、昆明、厦门、南京、西安、宁波、珠海这14个没有设立美国领事馆的城市设立专门办公区域，指定专人，向美国企业提供贸易促进服务，帮助美国企业在中国寻找合作伙伴，切实扩大出口，同时促进我地方与美国的经贸合作。

　　底牌之二：人民币汇率

　　美国智囊机构“美中经济和安全审议委员会”今年3月25日提出建议报告，要求国会和政府迫使人民币升值25%，手段是考虑对来自中国的产品进口征收27.5%的关税。4月7日，参议院通过了纽约州参议员舒默等提出的议案,启动一项立法程序，声称如果中国如果在6个月内不调整人民币汇率，将对中国产品征收27.5%的惩罚性关税。

　　据消息人士称，人民币汇率将不会在此次中美商贸联委会上进行讨论，但并不代表这个问题将被跨过，无论报告还是议案，有一点是共同的，即都认为人民币低估，构成中国非法出口补贴，造成美国对华巨大贸易逆差，它仍然将作为一个重点争论的问题出现在今后的几乎每一张中美谈判桌上。

　　“还有一点也是共同的，即都说不出人民币到底低估了百分之几十几点几几。”何伟文说，其实，美国某些人士关于人民币汇率的指责不是什么新鲜事。新鲜的是，他们并不知道人民币究竟“低估了”百分之几。一方面主张对中国产品加征27.5%的关税，这说明他们认为人民币汇率低估了27.5%。根据呢?同时又说，“恐怕低估了40%”。这显然是自相矛盾。原因是“智囊团”们和议员们确实拿不出人民币是否低估，甚或低估了多少的科学依据。

　　他表示，无论观察人民币汇率并轨以来中美相互进出口的增减变化，还是美国全球进出口的变化，即便援引美国官方统计,也无法证明美国贸易逆差与人民币汇率，以及同美元本身汇率水平有什么实质性关系。

　　1994至1998年是人民币对美元升值时期。1996年至1998年是美元全球中性时期，三年合计人民币升值0.86%,达到8.2791元。同期中国对美国出口年均增长16.0%。与前一时期差不多。这四年美国对华逆差差不多翻了一番，从295.05亿美元增加到569.27亿美元。

　　1996至2004年是人民币钉住美元时期。这9年情况却差别很大。1999年和2000年，我国对美出口持续快速增长，分别达到14.9%和22.3%。美国对中国出口则呈痉挛性起伏。1999年下降7.9%,2000年大增23.4%。这两年汇率并没有变化。2001年中国对美出口增长急剧放慢到2.2%，从美国进口则大幅增长18.5%,结果美国对华逆差比上年减少了7.37亿美元。2002年至2004年我国出口又持续增长22.4%、21.8%和29.0%。而汇率始终没有变化。同期美国对华出口也出现持续大幅增长，分别是15.4%、28.2%和22.4%，汇率仍然没有变化。

　　人民币钉住美元以来,美国对中国的出口累计增长了145.1%,是美国对全球累计增长速度19.0%的6倍。根据汇率对贸易影响的一般规律,弱势货币利于出口,强势货币不利出口。如果人民币汇率是低估的，美元对人民币就处于强势，在美国出口上的比较应该相反。

　　底牌之三：知识产权保护

　　中美之间关于知识产权问题的纠纷由来已久，从20世纪80年代以来就一直存在着摩擦。1990年4月，美国以中国对知识产权保护不利为由，根据美国贸易法“特别301条款”的规定，宣布将中国列入“重点观察国家名单”。应当说，中国方面对知识产权问题的态度是积极的。

　　1992年1月，中美双方代表吴仪和卡拉·希尔斯共同签署了“中美关于知识产权保护的谅解备忘录”。中国愿意在约定期限内完成对这一问题的保护工作，而美方则承诺取消对中国的特别调查。但是事隔两年后的1994年6月，美国又再次挥舞起“特别301”大棒，不考虑中国政府在签署谅解备忘录以后作出的努力，要求对中国进行六个月的调查。在接下来的半年里，中国与美国之间就知识产权保护问题一共进行了七轮磋商。

　　事隔10年之后，今年2月9日，包括6个行业、1500家企业在内的美国商会向美国贸易代表办公室提出申请，要求美国政府在WTO框架内，与中国进行交涉，解决盗版问题，要求贸易办公室将中国列为知识产权优先监管对象，这最终有可能导致美国对中国的贸易制裁。他们援引国际调查公司的数据，声称中国的盗版每年给美国造成240亿美元的损失，而美国全年的损失不过500亿美元。

　　业内专家表示，如果说10年前中美知识产权谈判重点锁定立法问题，那么当10年后的今天知识产权重回风暴中心的时候，处于风暴眼的是我国的执法力度是否足够大，尤其是对盗版音像制品的打击力度，是双方角力的重点。

　　商务部研究院梅新育博士就知识产权问题接受本报记者采访时说，美国运用贸易法中的“特别301条款”，要求其他国家接受美国的知识产权保护和相关的市场准入标准，即把自己认可的贸易模式和标准，包括知识产权及其市场准入标准强加在他国人民的头上，就是要在国际贸易中维护和保持自己的优势地位。在今天经济和科技发展的条件下，强国对于弱国的“掠夺”，将更多地通过出售知识产权和体现了知识产权的产品来进行。

　　底牌之四：市场经济地位、对华出口管制和中国履行WTO承诺开放市场的进度

　　早在此次中美商贸联委会召开之前，业内早有声音认为联委会恐难根本消除导致两国经贸失衡的原因。除了中美经贸问题政治化趋势加大和贸易平衡短期内恐难实现这两条原因之外，两国贸易间歧视性政策将使两国经贸关系难以顺利发展。

　　理论上，入世意味着中国将无条件享受“最惠国待遇”，但实际上中国依然面临包括美国在内的WTO成员对我采取的过渡期“特殊待遇”。一是“非市场经济国家”待遇。二是过渡性特定产品保障机制。三是过渡性审议机制。近年来大幅增加的美国对华反倾销案件中，对于中国企业应诉影响最大的就是中国的“非市场经济国家”地位。

　　“此外，美国在高新技术方面对华出口管制和中国履行WTO承诺对于国内市场的开放状况将是主要讨论的内容。”赵振格说。

　　谈判关键词：纺织品、农产品、分销

　　中美纺织品磋商与联委会交织着一直在进行，在中美入世协议中，美国被要求在2005年1月之前，取消纺织品和服装的配额，但中国允许美国在中国对美国纺织品激增时采取临时性保障措施，包括允许美方在纺织品服装进口激增而导致美纺织品服装行业受到损害的情况下，将实行配额的有效期延长至2008年12月31日。

　　梅新育博士认为，在纺织品问题上，美方最大的工具就是242条款和中国入世议定书第十六条，但美方的做法在程序上违反242条款的规定，属于程序违规。他表示，中美谈判难点在于欧盟和美国对中国的定位不一样，前者把中国作为战略合作伙伴，而后者把中国看作最大潜在对手。在纺织品问题上我们难以指望美国能够如同欧盟那样接受我方的条件，能够就此止步。

　　而在农产品贸易上，梅新育说，我国在农产品领域已经让步很多了，在这个双边谈判的场合谈不上争取什么农业利益，能保住我们自己的市场也就是了。美国是农产品出口大国，我国农产品在他们那里市场不大，除了一点养殖业产品市场之外，种植业产品在美国几乎没有市场。

　　关于分销，他表示，我国对于传统业态开放还是比较积极的，美方对此应该没有更多要求，双方的争论将围绕直销法规延期出台一事进行。（记者文婧）（经济参考报）

　中国国际贸易现状
　 ·中国连续9年成反倾销最大受害国 贸易摩擦加剧

　　近年来，在我国对外贸易进入扩张期的同时，中国开始成为全球贸易争端的最大受害国。据世贸组织统计，自1995年世贸组织成立以来，成员方反倾销立案中涉及中国产品的调查占总数的1／7左右。中国已连续9年成为世界上遭受反倾销调查最多的国家......[全文]

　 ·应对日益多发贸易摩擦 商务部加速变阵适应变局

　　商务部正在研究提拔一名官员为世贸司司长——自从 2004年1 月原司长何宁调任美大司司长之后，这个重要职位一直空缺。世贸司负责中国在世贸体制下的贸易争端谈判解决工作。今年以来，中欧纺织品谈判刚告一段落，中美纺织品争端又方兴未艾……世贸司成为商务部关注度最高的一个司……[全文]

　 ·中美贸易争端不该政治化 进口商愿与中国做生意

　　在与中国的贸易谈判中，美国政府制造的气氛使自己陷入了一种没有退路的困境。我也不知道美国希望获得什么，也许它想让中国对美国所有商品开放市场。我认为，重要的是我们必须一起工作，不要彼此视作敌人，我们应当对话、协商，而不是制造相互敌对的气氛……[全文]　　 　


　如何面对贸易摩擦
　 ·中国面对贸易摩擦 应“道”“术”并举

　　有鉴于世贸组织在解决贸易争端方面时效性较差、世贸新一轮谈判困难重重，中国政府今后还当在推进双边自贸区建设方面继续发力，为解决贸易摩擦提供一种更具时效性、灵活性的磋商机制……[全文]

　 ·争端预料之中规则之外 纺织品还会打贸易战吗？

　　我国正面临贸易摩擦多发期，国外各种保护主义会一浪高过一浪，纺织业不应过于依赖一体化，也不必事事都靠政府去“摆平”。每一场贸易战都是考验，也会是新的机遇.....[全文]

　 ·中欧纺织品贸易谈判内幕揭秘：惊心动魄十小时

　　2005年6月11日凌晨，经过紧张的10小时谈判，商务部部长薄熙来和欧盟贸易委员曼德尔森在上海西郊宾馆向外界宣布，中国和欧盟就纺织品贸易问题达成《中欧谅解备忘录》，在最后时刻避免了一场迫在眉睫的贸易战，化干戈为玉帛……[全文] 　


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LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - DocumentCopyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

June 13, 2005 Monday

SECTION: FT REPORT - BUSINESS TRAVEL; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 749 words

HEADLINE: China likely to lead demand in south-east Asia China likely to lead demand GROWTH MARKETS: Andrew Yeh looks at the implications for the air industry as the sector opens up

BYLINE: By ANDREW YEH

BODY:


China's demand for small business aircraft is projected to gather momentum as its aviation sector opens up and more people seek greater travel convenience, according to a consensus of industry experts.

Many foreign business jet makers believe China's growing class of multi-millionaires and its rapidly internationalising enterprises will fuel demand for one of life's most extravagant status symbols in the years ahead.

Several local airlines already offer charter services within the country and have purchased foreign aircraft but there are probably only a handful of people in the country who own their own aircraft, according to industry estimates.

But the world's leading makers are predicting China will be an important driver of sales.

In August, Shanghai will host a large-scale business aircraft trade show, the first of its kind on the mainland. The event, organised by the Washington-based National Business Aviation Association, will feature a display of popular models at the city's Hongqiao International Airport.

Orders for aircraft have been on the rise. Todd Duhnke, director of international sales for US manufacturer Cessna Aircraft, for example, says eight orders last year nearly doubled its fleet of Citation aircraft in the country to 17.

Jeff Lowe, Hong Kong based vice-president of Gulfstream Aerospace, another US company, says he expects to see a gradual progression in China over the next few years.

Companies and individuals will first use charter jets on an ad hoc basis, then start buying blocks of charter time at a discount, and finally some rich Chinese will consider fractional or sole ownership of a jet, he says.

"We all see a lot of business there," says Mr Lowe during an interview aboard a Gulfstream G550, one of the company's most advanced aircraft.

"There's more wealth being generated in China and a global expansion of Chinese corporations."

Gulfstream, in common with a number of leading business aircraft manufacturers, has until now relied primarily on selling to China's charter operators.

But foreign manufacturers have been looking to make more sales to wealthy individuals, which have been very rare.

Jackie Berger, of Raytheon Aircraft in Kansas, says her company has sold nine aircraft to Hainan Airlines (Deer Jet) and Shanghai Airlines, two of China's domestic charter operators, but made only its first sale to a private buyer this year - a Beechcraft Premier I to entrepreneur Qiu Dedao.

Mr Qiu, who heads a chemical fibre company in Hangzhou near Shanghai, paid about Dollars 6m for his jet after attending an air show in Singapore last year, according to Raytheon.

Rich Chinese who buy jets are in large part drawn to their efficiencies.

Zhang Yue, a businessman from the central province of Hunan who owns several Cessna aircraft, says the "better mood" that comes with having a jet far outweighs any complications.

Mr Zhang pointed out he can now decide to go anywhere in the country within an hour and often takes guests on board.

Ms Berger added that corporate jets can conveniently travel to more remote areas and land with ease on shorter runways.

The downside is that owning a jet in China can be troublesome and the cost of maintaining one can be high - there are necessary expenses for hiring pilots, servicing the aircraft,

miscellaneous flight and landing fees. And as in other

developed countries, the cost of chartering is steep. A Shandong Airlines representative says a Bombardier Challenger will cost Rmb38,000 an hour and an official with Hainan Airlines says its Gulfstream will cost Rmb40,000 an hour.

The country's charter airlines report they have been getting a steady stream of requests mainly from large enterprises, with occasional calls from high society Chinese.

As of now, foreign charter operators have mostly been only looking at China. US-based NetJets, which has a network of 50 aircraft in Europe alone, does not have any business in China, says a company representative.

But there are signs the market has been opening up for foreign jet companies, and many are eager to market themselves in China. Beijing has already eased controls on market entry by approving more models of foreign aircraft.

John Rosanvallon, chief executive officer of Dassault Falcon Jet, says he expects all of his company's models to get regulatory approval by the end of this year, and other foreign aircraft makers have reported similar progress.

On the regulatory side, Beijing has allowed private jets access to its skies, albeit under restrictions.

LOAD-DATE: June 12, 2005

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document
Copyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

June 14, 2005 Tuesday
London Edition 2

SECTION: LEADER; Pg. 18

LENGTH: 476 words

HEADLINE: Textiles stitch-up: Whatever the EU and China say, their deal mocks free trade

BODY:


The European Union's agreement with Beijing restricting China's textiles and clothing exports has been greeted with much self-congratulation by both sides and no little gloating by Peter Mandelson, the EU's trade commissioner. He has trumpeted the deal as a triumph for emollient European diplomacy and dismissed US trade tactics, in contrast, as crudely confrontational.

But it is hard to see anything to commend the deal - other than to Europe's mollycoddled textiles industry. However dressed up, it is pure protectionism. No amount of public relations spin can conceal the fact that it was reached only after Brussels threatened to use against China the same import quota provisions in its World Trade Organisation membership agreement that the EU now piously condemns the US for invoking.

By cutting a deal with the EU rather than see it impose quotas unilaterally, China has won something - but not much. The annual growth of its exports will be limited to between 8 and 12.5 per cent, compared with the 7.5 per cent provided for by WTO quotas. That compares with increases in its exports of as much as 500 per cent in the first quarter.

Mr Mandelson's efforts to portray the deal as a "transitional arrangement", until WTO rules oblige Brussels to end the quotas in 2008, are risible. The EU and US committed themselves a decade ago to lifting global textiles curbs at the end of last year. Instead of preparing for that deadline, they sat on their hands. Now they are busy putting trade barriers up again.

By so doing, they are inviting other industries to lobby for similar treatment. European shoemakers want Chinese imports curbed. So do bicycle makers - even though most cycles sold in the EU are made of imported parts. The list will doubtless grow.

Alas, the demands are all too easy to meet. As well as imposing dumping duties, of which China is already the biggest target, its trade partners may legally restrict until 2013 any of its exports they judge to be disrupting - or merely threatening to disrupt - their markets.

Years of trade protection have not saved weak western industries from decline. Nor will yet more trade barriers do so. They will, however, frustrate structural change and penalise poor US and European consumers, who spend much of their income on the basic products of which China is among the lowest-cost producers. Now their own governments have decreed that they must pay even more.

This is cynicism of a high order. But it is what happens when politicians pander cravenly to narrow vested interests. All history shows that once protectionist weapons are created petitioners will spring up to demand they be used. That Beijing has connived in this stitch-up and that the deal will no doubt be applauded by other developing countries whose textiles exporters fear Chinese competition make it no less a travesty of free trade.

LOAD-DATE: June 13, 2005

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - DocumentCopyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

June 16, 2005 Thursday
London Edition 1

SECTION: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY & ASIA; Pg. 12

LENGTH: 454 words

HEADLINE: EU told to face challenge of China on trade

BYLINE: By RAPHAEL MINDER

BODY:


The European Union and China will face repeated tensions over trade unless European businesses respond rapidly to China's growing manufacturing clout, Peter Mandelson, the EU's trade commissioner, warned yesterday.

He was speaking after announcing an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese shoes, only days after negotiating an end to a trade dispute with China over textiles.

The investigation could last nine months and result in the imposition of anti-dumping duties if Brussels finds evidence of shoes being sold below the cost of production.

Mr Mandelson told a conference on EU-China relations that he expected trade friction to spread to other sectors as China continued its economic progress.

"Yesterday textiles, today footwear, tomorrow what? Consumer electronics? Cars? Where will it go and when will it end? We are at the beginning of the China story and not the end."

Mr Mandelson said he "won't fight shy" if the footwear probe proved that Chinese shoes were being sold in Europe below the cost of production, even though Beijing could respond with a complaint to the World Trade Organisation. Exports of Chinese shoes to the EU have increased by 700 per cent this year.

However, Mr Mandelson said he remained firmly opposed to "the unhealthy protectionism that is arising in Europe just as it is in America".

While stressing that he could not "ignore politically" the distress signals from European manufacturers, Mr Mandelson said he was ready to challenge politicians who suggest that "we can pull the economic blanket over our head and somehow the economic hurricane will pass".

Bo Xilai, the Chinese commerce minister, praised Mr Mandelson at the weekend for negotiating a truce over textiles rather than resorting to sanctions, as Washington has done by re-imposing import quotas on some categories of Chinese clothing exports.

But Mr Mandelson warned that such a conciliatory approach on textiles was not a template for future trade frictions.

"We can make pragmatic interventions but the idea that we can simply roll out some comprehensive general plan to resolve trade frictions between us and the Chinese is an illusion," he said. Instead, he urged European companies to speed their restructuring efforts and "move up the value chain" to counter cheaper imports. "I am not going to be remembered for my mandate as the man who turned his back on free trade."

The European footwear industry has forecast that employment in the sector could halve in two years, from 290,000 jobs at the end of 2004, with countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal most vulnerable.

In the first four months of this year, shoe prices in Europe have fallen 28 per cent, with Italian shoe imports outstripping exports for the first time.

LOAD-DATE: June 15, 2005

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - DocumentCopyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

June 24, 2005 Friday
London Edition 1

SECTION: ASIA-PACIFIC; Pg. 10

LENGTH: 792 words

HEADLINE: China's 'go west' investment policies to limit wealth disparities show limitations: Even Beijing's communist leaders admit a regional economic balancing act is impossible, writes Mure Dickie

BYLINE: By MURE DICKIE

BODY:


South Korea's SKTeletech raised eyebrows last year when it announced plans to build a mobile phone factory in Urumqi, capital of China's far western region of Xinjiang.

Xinjiang, a sparsely populated and economically backward region with an economy based heavily on desert oil drilling and cotton cultivation, is not an obvious place to try to establish an electronics business.

But SK Teletech, an affiliate of the SK Telecom group, did not have much choice.

Asked why the Koreans would choose a remote region with limited skilled labour, Cha Xinming, a senior official of the Urumqi economic and technological development zone, points out that only companies approved by the government can make mobile phones in China.

Allowing SK Teletech to set up in China's more developed east could have resulted in a "major loss of social resources", Mr Cha says. "(They had to) fit in with the Great Western Development policy," he says. Such determination to direct high-technology investment towards Xinjiang reflects the importance put by China's government on boosting the economy of the country's western regions.

The five-year-old western development policy is aimed at limiting regional wealth disparities that have yawned ever wider as the economies of China's eastern provinces boom.

It is also intended to ease ethnic tensions and cement Beijing's rule in frontier areas such as Xinjiang, where many among the mostly Uighur local population see Chinese officials and settlers as foreign occupiers.

In Xinjiang, the impact of the policy is easy to see. Urumqi boasts a gleaming new airport terminal and upmarket department stores in its Chinese-dominated centre. A local executive talks with pleasure about the speeds he can reach in his Mazda sports car on a new road built into the desert. "Practice has proved that the central authorities' policy decisions, guiding principles, policies, and key tasks for implementing the strategy of the great development of western regions are absolutely correct," a meeting of Chinese leaders concluded last month.

Even Beijing's self-congratulatory communist cadres recognised that "myriad difficulties and problems" still plagued the western regions, however.

Indeed, some senior officials publicly acknowledge the limitations of the western development policy. Lou Jiwei, vice-finance minister, says fiscal transfers to western regions totalled Rmb600bn (Dollars 72.5bn, Euros 60bn, Pounds 40bn) last year, but that this was only enough to ensure public spending there matched eastern levels.

"I think it is impossible for development of the west to rely on fiscal spending. It has to rely on the strength of the market," Mr Lou says in an interview.

In Xinjiang, officials see pulling in investors such as SK Teletech as a way of putting market forces to work for the region's benefit.

The new SK Mobile, a joint venture with Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer Datang and a Xinjiang property group, is expected to prompt a number of related investments from parts producers that will lay the foundations of a new electronics sector in the region. "By helping Xinjiang to attract some relatively high-tech companies . . . the state is driving Xinjiang's economic development," says Mr Cha.

SK Mobile is also keen to look on the bright side of its Xinjiang base. Ma Chaoying, company vice-president, says the venture sees a potential market in central Asian states that border the region, although he admits it is still "not clear" how big a source of demand they might be.

But the reliance on administrative influence to push investment westward highlights regional authorities' inability to offer the kind of generous tax breaks and other special treatment that might make private companies eager to come.

SK Mobile will get cheap land, but even that is often available much further east. "The government's attitude is 100 per cent supportive, but the scope of its incentive policies are limited by state regulations," admits Mr Ma.

Even if SK Mobile confounds its doubters and thrives in China's hugely competitive handset market, Xinjiang is likely to be forced to seek new ways to attract investors.

General liberalisation of the Chinese economy is gradually reducing officials' leverage over investment decisions. Since SK decided to set up in Xinjiang, new regulations have allowed a number of new mobile handset manufacturers based in eastern areas to enter the market.

Even if Xinjiang is able to drag in other electronics investors, it is unlikely to ever become a centre of Chinese high-tech manufacturing - and it might be wiser to focus on other opportunities.

It is impossible to achieve complete economic balance between China's regions, warns Mr Lou. New Asian invasion, Page 17 Samuel Brittan, Page 19

LOAD-DATE: June 24, 2005

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - Document

LexisNexis(TM) Academic - DocumentCopyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)

June 24, 2005 Friday
London Edition 1

SECTION: THE AMERICAS; Pg. 9

LENGTH: 594 words

HEADLINE: Fed and Treasury chiefs warn on China trade bars

BYLINE: By ANDREW BALLS and SCOTT HEISER

DATELINE: WASHINGTON

BODY:


Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve chairman, and John Snow, Treasury secretary, yesterday warned Congress against erecting barriers to trade with China, saying this would do nothing to help US manufacturers but would hurt US consumers.

Imposing a tariff on Chinese imports would simply mean that the US imported the same goods from other low-cost economies in Asia and elsewhere, Mr Greenspan said. "Few, if any, American jobs would be protected," he told the Senate finance committee.

But, he said, tariffs would raise the overall cost of goods for US households and risked setting off protectionist reactions abroad.

"A return to protectionism would threaten the continuation of much of the extraordinary growth in living standards worldwide, but especially in the United States, that is due importantly to the post-world war two opening of global markets," he said.

Policy should instead aim to help people who lost jobs in declining US industries, through retraining and unemployment insurance.

Mr Greenspan and Mr Snow, the US government's top economic policymakers, appeared at a combative session of the committee, at which lawmakers from both parties expressed frustration at China's failure to adjust its currency and at what they said was the administration's inaction.

Senators cited complaints from US manufacturers about the currency peg, as well as concern about China's poor enforcement of intellectual property rights.

Mr Greenspan and Mr Snow both said greater currency flexibility was in China's own interests, to allow it to use monetary policy to manage its economy rather than keeping the currency peg.

The Treasury has hardened its rhetoric on China this year in response to rising protectionist pressure in China, and has privately told Beijing it must revalue its currency by at least 10 per cent, to help the administration resist Congress's demands for tariffs.

Mr Snow repeated the administration's call for an immediate revaluation, as part of a global effort to reduce trade imbalances that would require other Asian economies to allow their currencies to rise against the dollar.

"I cannot overstate my firm belief that resorting to isolationist trade policies would be ineffective, disruptive to markets and damaging to America's special role as the world's leading advocate for open markets and fair trade," he said.

Charles Schumer, a Democrat committee member and co-sponsor of a bill that would impose a 27.5 per cent tariff on Chinese imports if Beijing does not revalue, said it was wrong to portray the proposal as protectionist. "Free traders believe in floating currencies," he said, adding that China's currency peg was distorting global trade flows.

Mr Greenspan said the focus on the US's bilateral trade deficit with China was wrong-headed. "Some observers mistakenly believe that a marked increase in the exchange value of the Chinese renminbi relative to the US dollar would significantly increase manufacturing activity and jobs in the United States," he said. "I am aware of no credible evidence that supports such a conclusion."

He said an appreciation of the renminbi would reduce US imports from China, but that this would be redirected to other Asian economies. As US imports from China had risen since 2000, imports from other Asian economies had fallen, as China had become the last stop in the Asian supply-chain, importing components from its neighbours and assembling final goods.

The increase in the trade deficit with China, he said, "has largely been in lieu of wider deficits with other Asian economies, including Japan".

LOAD-DATE: June 24, 2005

FT.com / World / Asia-Pacific - China�s trade surplus grows fivefold in June

FT.com / World / Asia-Pacific - China�s trade surplus grows fivefold in June
>
>China’s trade surplus grows fivefold in June
>BEIJING, July 11 (Reuters)
>>
China’s trade surplus for June swelled five-fold from a year earlier as exports grew much faster than imports, offering more ammunition for foreign critics who argue that Beijing should let the yuan rise in value.

The June surplus grew to $9.68 billion, exceeding forecasts of $8.0 billion and towering above the $1.8 billion surplus recorded for June 2004.

“The very large trade surplus will give the U.S. and Europe more excuse to put pressure on China to revalue the yuan,” said Toshikatsu Kimura, greater China economist with Daiwa Securities in Shanghai.

“China needs to import more goods and services to avoid a trade war, but it will be very difficult to import more if it doesn’t want to change its macroeconomic policy,” he said.

China is already embroiled in trade rows with the United States over textiles and with the European Union over shoes and frozen strawberries.

Annual trade talks between senior U.S. and Chinese officials in Beijing on Monday were expected to focus on their dispute over Chinese textile exports, which have surged following the collapse of global quotas, and market access.

Chinese exports remained buoyant in June, rising 30.6 percent on the year, while imports growth grew just 15.1 percent, which was also far slower than the growth seen for much of last year, according to Customs data seen by Reuters and later confirmed by official media.

Slower import growth seen in recent months has been spurred by government efforts to cool heated sectors of the economy since mid-2003 in a bid to rebalance growth away from heady investment.

The accumulated surplus for the first half of the year was $39.65 billion, contrasting with the year-earlier deficit of $6.8 billion.

China could post a record trade surplus of more than $70 billion this year, versus $32 billion in 2004, according to a forecast in the official International Business Daily last week.

China’s trading partners including the United States have argued the yuan is undervalued and giving Chinese exporters an unfair advantage in global markets.

But some analysts said the pressure to revalue was coming much less from trade income than from incoming capital, which has been sloshing into China in anticipation of a yuan revaluation as early as this year.

“Capital inflows are much bigger than the trade surplus. If there is pressure (for the yuan to revalue), then that pressure comes mainly from capital flows,” said HSBC economist Qu Hongbin.

“Balance of trade increasing is one factor, but if you put it into context, it’s not the major factor,” he said.

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Title: There's No Holding Back China's Textile Tide.
Authors: Magnusson, Paul
Kripalani, Manjeet
Mangi, Naween A.
Roberts, Dexter
Brady, Rose
Source: Business Week; 5/9/2005 Issue 3932, p59, 2/3p, 1c
Document Type: Article
Subject Terms: *INDUSTRIAL productivity
*INTERNATIONAL trade
*TEXTILE industry
INDUSTRIES -- China
UNITED States -- Foreign economic relations
CHINA -- Economic conditions -- 2000-
CHINA -- Foreign economic relations
EUROPE -- Foreign economic relations
Geographic Terms: CHINA
EUROPE
UNITED States
Company/Entity: WORLD Trade Organization
NAICS/Industry Codes: 339999 All Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing
313 Textile Mills
People: MANDELSON, Peter
PORTMAN, Rob
Abstract: Focuses on the impact of Chinese textile exports on international trade. Views of U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on economic relations with China; Impact of the removal of quotas on the productivity of China's textile industries; Guidelines imposed on China's exports due to its membership in the World Trade Organization; Potential for other low-wage nations, including India and Pakistan, to increase the number of imported goods to Europe and the U.S.; Long term implications of the abolition of quotas.
Full Text Word Count: 602
ISSN: 0007-7135
Accession Number: 16894432
Persistent link to this record: https://libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/login?url=http://search.epnet.com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&an=16894432
Database: Business Source Premier
View Links: Check NUS Libraries holdings
* * *
Section: News: International Outlook There's No Holding Back China's Textile Tide


Contents
Waiting in the Wings
On both sides of the Atlantic, the rhetoric about trade with China is intensifying. In Washington, U.S. Trade Representative nominee Rob Portman promised Congress on Apr. 21 he will take "a tougher approach" with Beijing than his predecessors. European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson declared on Apr. 24 that Europe is facing "a ruinous surge" of Chinese imports. French President Jacques Chirac called on Apr. 26 for more regulation of trade with China.

The immediate issue: Booming Chinese sales of items such as underwear, trousers, blouses, and shirts in both markets. Since quotas on clothing and textiles were removed worldwide on Jan. 1 after a 10-year phase-out, Chinese textile and apparel exports to the U.S. increased 62.5% overall in the first quarter of 2005, vs. the first quarter of 2004, and in some categories by 1,500% in a single month. China now controls 17% of the U.S. clothing market, up from 12% in December. The EU says imports of Chinese textiles in the first quarter rose anywhere from 51% to 534%, depending on the item. The result is an outcry from U.S. and European manufacturers and a rush to reimpose quotas on Chinese textiles and clothing within months. France has asked for emergency curbs sooner.

The irony is that even if new quotas are imposed, they are unlikely to provide relief for the U.S. and European industries. According to rules that China agreed to when it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, such "safeguard" measures can last only until the beginning of 2008. China would still be allowed to increase its textile exports to the U.S. and Europe during that period by 7.5% a year. Moreover, says Kenneth Chan, spokesman for the Federation of Hong Kong Garment Manufacturers, mainland makers could revert to their practice of skirting quotas by having third countries ship Chinese goods.

Even if China loses some of its new export business, that doesn't mean work will flow back to Europe and the U.S. That's because China's low-wage competitors are gearing up to grab orders if buyers shift from China. Textile production "will still leave the U.S. and go to India and Pakistan," says Cao Xinyu, vice-chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Textiles. Pakistan imported $2.2 billion in machinery over the last five years to modernize its textile industry.

Waiting in the Wings
Aziz Memon, chairman of Karachi-based King's Group, a big knitware exporter, expects Pakistan's post-quota textile exports to grow by $1 billion -- or 12% -- a year. "India and Pakistan will be the [main] gainers from China's losses," he says. In India, Rajesh Mandawewala, CEO of Welspun India Ltd., the nation's No. 3 textile maker, says new factories coming on line should boost Indian textile exports from $15 billion last year to $50 billion in 2010.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which buys an estimated $350 million in clothing from India every year, is expected to double its purchases in two years, Indian experts say. "Slapping quotas on China won't make the U.S. [clothing] industry more competitive," says Erik O. Autor, a trade lawyer with the National Retail Federation in Washington. No matter. The outcry over job losses in the U.S. and Europe makes action against China inevitable, however futile a gesture it proves.

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Copyright 2005

PHOTO (COLOR): CHEAP LABOR: Chinese exports are soaring

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By Paul Magnusson, in Washington

With Manjeet Kripalani, in Bombay; Naween A. Mangi, in Karachi and Dexter Roberts, in Beijing, and bureau reports; Edited By Rose Brady


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China bans imports of cow, beef from US

China Daily

China bans imports of cow, beef from US
China bans imports of cow, beef from US
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-07-02 09:07


China will continue to ban imports of cow, beef and related products from the United States following confirmation of the country's first homegrown case of mad cow disease, a spokesman with the Ministry of Agriculture said on Friday.

Jia Youling, the spokesman, said the ministry will adopt strict measures to prevent the occurence of the disease in China.

The procedure for approving imports of animals and their related products as well as quarantine on them will be further strengthened, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, management over the production and use of cattle feed will be more strict and cow parts in cattle feed is strictly forbidden, Jia said.

So far, Chinese experts have conducted tests over brains of 10,000 head of cows and all the samples tested are negative, he noted.

The spokesman said in December 2003, the Ministry of Agricultureand relevant departments banned the imports of US animals and related products to prevent the spread of mad cow disease to China.

In September 2004, the ministry abrogated the ban on imports of cow sperms and embryos from the United States and other countries that have been plagued by mad cow disease in accordance with regulations of the World Organization for Animal Health.

On Wednesday, US agriculture officials announced that the test onthe confirmed case of mad cow disease in the United States had been traced to a 12-year-old beef cow, that was born and raised at a Texas ranch

It was the first time the disease has been confirmed in a US-born cow. The other US case was in a dairy cow imported from Canada.

People eating animal meat products contaminated with mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), can develop a human variant of the fatal brain-wasting illness called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The brain disorder has killed more than 150 people, mostly in Britain, where an outbreak was reported in the 1990s.