China urges US to lift hi-tech export controls

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Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan speaks during the third annual US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) at the Department of the Interior in Washington May 9, 2011.[Xinhua]

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan Monday urged the United States to "set a clear timetable and roadmap" for relaxing its high-tech export control regime and recognize China's market economy status.

Wang made the remarks at the opening of the third round of the China-U.S. Strategic & Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Washington D.C.

Wang also called on the U.S. to offer Chinese companies fair access to investing in the U.S. and avoid "politicizing economic and trade issues".

"The two sides need to fully accommodate each other's concerns and deliver real benefits to our two peoples through concrete results from the dialogue," said Wang.

According to Wang, open trade and investment policies are crutial to promoting innovation, creating jobs, increasing income and boosting economic growth.

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming also pressed the U.S. to lift high-tech export restrictions to China. "Because the U.S. restricts its export of high technology to China, American companies suffered a lot in terms of losing market share in China, " Chen said at a press briefing.

It's unfair that the U.S. still imposes licensing requirement on more than 2,000 items that to be exported to China, Chen noted. US manufacturers are required to clarify their end-users and end-use in China before they could export these items to the country.

Last December, the US granted preferential trade rights to a total of 164 countries, said Chen, but China was excluded from the list.

Such acts is not in line with the consensus that Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama agreed to in January to forge a "new relationship", open a "new position" and give a "new strength" to China-US relationship, Chen said.

The two-day S&ED is co-chaired by Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, State Councilor Dai Bingguo and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

The dialogue mechanism was upgraded from former Strategic Dialogue and biennial Strategic Economic Dialogue, which were initiated by the two heads of state in 2005 and 2006, respectively.