China's newly appointed Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Deming has urged China and the United States to take "a long and strategic view" on bilateral trade relations and abandon trade protectionism.

 

Chen made the remarks ahead of the Third China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

 

The vice minister said both countries should face up to challenges brought by globalization such as a widening rich-poor gap, the uneven profit distribution among industries and imbalances of regional development.

 

"As the world's two major economies, we bear key responsibilities for global economic growth. I hope the two sides would increase consensus in a variety of fields such as energy, environment protection, investment and balanced economic growth through the dialogue," said Chen.

 

The vice minister stressed the rising interdependence of the U.S. and Chinese economies. "The two should clarify the responsibilities for each side, face and resolve structural problems in the economy, and strengthen dialogue and communication," he said.

 

"Some people in the U.S. hyped about China's foreign exchange rate, food safety and intellectual property rights. This will hurt the normal development of bilateral trade ties," he said.

 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has just arrived here on Monday night for the third China-U.S. SED, which will be co-chaired by special representatives of the heads of state of the two countries, Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and Paulson.

 

Delegations sent by the two governments to the SED III are of a very high-level.

 

The U.S. side will include nine cabinet-level officials including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Ambassador Clark Randt, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt, Trade Representative Ambassador Susan Schwab, Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency Stephen Johnson, Deputy Secretary of Energy Clay Sell, Under Secretary of State for Economic, Energy & Agricultural Affairs Reuben Jeffery III, and the Chairman and President of Export-Import Bank James Lambright.

 

For the Chinese side, Vice Premier Wu will lead a delegation also comprising a number of ministers.

 

Paulson said on last Wednesday that the SED has made substantial progress in building stronger relationship and establishing constructive channels of communication between the United States and China.

 

"These innovations have helped keep the U.S.-China economic relationship on an even keel and helped us manage difficult issues, even in times of tension," Paulson said in a speech at the Asia Society.

 

"We look forward to working with the Chinese leadership team to ensure that the SED process continues to be an effective mechanism for promoting our shared interests and responsibilities," said Paulson in the speech.

 

The dialogue was launched by U.S. President George W. Bush and his Chinese counterpart, President Hu Jintao, in September 2006, serving as a platform to discuss long-term, strategic and comprehensive issues in the bilateral trade relationship.

 

The dialogue, themed "Seizing Opportunities of Economic Globalization and Dealing with Challenges of Economic Globalization", will focus on six topics: China and the United States working together to seize the benefits and meet the challenges of globalization; strengthening the integrity of trade; balanced economic development; managing the economic impact of energy choices; balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability; and advancing bilateral investment.

 

Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren said on Sunday these topics were fairly balanced to reflect the concerns of both sides and also accord with the goals of the dialogue to exchange views on macro, strategic and long-term issues.

 

He said the SED was of great significance to enhance strategic mutual trust between the two governments, thus ensuring constant progress of the constructive and cooperative relations between China and the United States.

 

China-U.S. bilateral trade volume has surged from less than 2.5 billion U.S. dollars when diplomatic relations were established in the late 1970s to 262.68 billion U.S. dollars in 2006.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 11, 2007)