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US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on Monday called on China to open its markets to foreign goods and settle currency disputes, warning that it could face protectionist sentiment in the United States if its record trade surplus keeps growing.
Gutierrez visited this industrial centre in China's southwest en route to Beijing for talks ahead of a possible Senate vote this week on proposed sanctions to punish China for manipulating its currency.
In a speech to university students, Gutierrez said Washington wants to see China give foreign competitors the same market access that its companies enjoy abroad, to adopt a more flexible currency and to stop piracy of intellectual property.
"The trade deficit worries people, and we don't want it to become so big that what happens is that people who want to isolate the US and who want to be protectionist may find a welcoming ear in the American people," Gutierrez said in the speech at Chongqing University.
Gutierrez is due in Beijing this week for talks ahead of a US Senate deadline of Friday to vote on a proposed bill to impose 27.5 percent tariffs on Chinese imports to the United States unless Beijing moves to resolve the currency dispute.
Supporters of the measure say they hope it will push Beijing to raise the value of its currency, the yuan, which some US manufacturers say is up to 40 per cent too low and gives Chinese an unfair price advantage at the expense of foreign competitors.
Chinese authorities set the yuan's value against a basket of world currencies but restricted its movements, allowing it only to appreciate about 1.0 per cent against the US dollar since it was revalued last July.
US President George W. Bush's administration faces growing pressure from Congress to deal with a U.S trade deficit with China that hit a record US$202 billion last year, a record with any country.
Chinese President Hu Jintao is due to visit the White House on April 24, and Chinese officials reportedly are preparing initiatives to ease tensions, including possible purchases of Boeing Co. aircraft.
Gutierrez began his trip to Chongqing with a stop at an orphanage with teachers financed by US donations.
The secretary talked to and played with orphans during the one-hour visit to the Chongqing Children's Welfare Institution, which has children ranging in age from toddlers to teenagers. Donations from US companies help to support a program that provides teachers to the orphanage to teach reading, dancing and painting.
The secretary was led on a tour of the orphanage by Jenny Bowen, the San Francisco woman who founded the program after adopting two Chinese girls in the early 1990s. "It's wonderful. They look very happy," Gutierrez said. If donors "haven't been here, they should be here. Quite a sight. We've got to get more people to know about this." Gutierrez said last week that he would be "very candid" in about US expectations in meetings with Chinese officials and said Washington expects Beijing to be a "responsible stakeholder" in the global economy.
A CEIS report adds from Beijing: China's top science strategist said that China will "undoubtedly" launch itself into the world's top five science powers within the next 15 years. "In some areas we now have some advantages and we might be among the top three," Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), said,
The prestigious CAS recently published its 15-year research outline that focuses on strengthening its innovation capabilities.
At a briefing for the research outline, Lu, who is also a CAS academician, said, "Considering the targeted economic development pace, China will be ranked at least third in economic strength by 2020."
"A country with such a huge economic power will no doubt lead most countries in scientific research and education," said Lu, who was elected as one of vice- chairmen of the 10th National People's Congress Standing Committee.
Lu said, "Developing countries must sharpen their innovative edge in order to keep abreast of developed countries in research capability." "Core technologies can never be obtained by purchasing them," he said. "If we have well-advised state policies, sustained economic development and peaceful international environment," Lu said, "China will substantially enhance its research capability very soon."
According to the Guidelines on National Medium- and Long- term Program for Science and Technology Development (2006-2020), which was released last month, China will put roughly 900 billion yuan (111.8 billion US dollars) into research and development in 2020, accounting for 2.5% of the expected gross domestic product, likely making it a world leader.
The CAS has integrated its 15-year development plan with the national sci-tech guidelines, underlining research on quantum, brain and cognitive science, animal and stem cell cloning as well as coded telecommunication based on quantum technologies.
Lu said his academy allocates about 70% of its annual research and development funds to 100 subsidiary research institutes, encouraging their innovative and frontier research. The remaining 30% is put into interdisciplinary scientific research.
"We are confident of being among the top three research academies throughout the world," Lu said, adding that the CAS will perform as the world-leading research base, scientists training base and high technologies base.
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