China-U.S. Reach $45B Trade Deal
The Washington Post reports:
China has agreed to $45 billion in trade and investment contracts with U.S. companies and has made a series of other trade-related concessions as part of Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit, a senior administration official said Wednesday.
The agreements, which come as Hu and President Obama prepare to speak with American business leaders in Washington on Wednesday, include the purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft and contracts with a broad range of manufacturing, agriculture and technology companies, the official said. The ventures include a broad strategic cooperation agreement between Honeywell and Chinese congolomerate Haier, and the development of a hybrid bus by Cummins Engine Co. and Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Company
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deals have not, said the deals are estimated to support some 235,000 U.S. jobs.
In addition to the deals, China has agreed to a series of policy changes that respond to some of the central concerns that U.S.companies have expressed about the business climate in China, the official said. They include an agreement to perform and publish audits to confirm government agencies at all levels are purchasing legal software. U.S. companies have complained about widespread software piracy in China, and to Beijing officials recently promised to tackle the problem and said they had budgeted money throughout the government to pay for software licenses.
