June 01, 2010
US Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner urged China to "go further" in opening more to imports and foreign investment from the US, while he acknowledged the progress that Chinese government has made during the past few years.
He made the remarks during the opening ceremony of the Economic Track of the Second China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue.
One of the most important objectives in the dialogue is to "expand economic opportunities in trade and investment for both countries," Geithner said.
As China entered the World Trade Organization, "China became increasingly more open to imports and foreign investment," but "we encourage China to go further to take additional steps to make sure that companies that export to China, that operate in China, that invest in China, and compete with Chinese companies around the world are competing at a level playing field."
As for technological innovation in China, the US concern is that "government preferences and enforcement of IPR do not unfairly target American firms and technologies."
"We are asking China to give the American firms the same opportunity to compete in China that the Chinese firms enjoy in the US. This is a simple principle," he said.
Geithner said the US welcomes the fact that "the Chinese leadership has recognized the reform of foreign exchange rate mechanism is an important part of the broader reform agenda, allowing exchange rates to reflect the market courses, and it is important not to give China the flexibility necessary to sustain the economic growth with no inflation, but also to reinforce the private sector to shift resources to be more productive."
And the common challenge that both nations have to face is, "as the global economy recovers, China and the US are laying a foundation for strong, sustainable and balanced global growth in the future."
By Ding Qingfen (chinadaily.com.cn)
http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/
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