China trade, currency policy to come under US scrutiny
Afp, Washington
The United States is expected to prod China to step up economic and financial reforms during high-level dialogue this week where Chinese trade and currency practices will come under scrutiny. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi will lead about a dozen of their ministers in the two-day "strategic economic dialogue" beginning Tuesday aimed at addressing mostly long-term issues facing the world's richest and most populous nations. The Washington meeting comes amid increasing pressure from US lawmakers for action by Beijing to address a snowballing US trade deficit with China that hit 232 billion dollars last year, blamed on an undervalued yuan currency. Ahead of the talks, a bipartisan group of 42 legislators has filed a petition to the administration of President George W. Bush calling for action against what they call China's "unfair currency manipulation."
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