China will send a delegation to the United States to explore ways to increase its imports from the United States and reduce Washington's deficit in bilateral trade.

Wan Jifei, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) made these remarks at a press conference yesterday, which was co-hosted by the CCPIT and the US-China Business Council (USCBC).

Wan said a cool-headed and objective analysis of the US deficit in bilateral trade is needed, adding the main reason for the deficit is that many US companies invest in China and export their products to the United States.

Wan said one way to reduce the deficit is to buy more US products and what China needs are electronic, aviation and chemical industrial products.

However, the US government has restricted exports of these products. Wan urged the US to change its policies.

Christopher Calvin, chairman of the USCBC, said he believes China will complete WTO compliance and change the trade imbalance. He said China has made progress in WTO compliance "thoughtfully and progressively," but "there is still room for improvement."

Founded in 1973, the USCBC is a private, non-profit organization of US corporations engaged in business relations with China.

The USCBC delegation is visiting China to celebrate 30 years of co-operation with the CCPIT.

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2003)