China vow: boost product safety

BEIJING — China and the United States signed agreements Tuesday to increase safeguards over Chinese products and to open up mid-sized Chinese cities to American imports, a move aimed at assuaging critics of Beijing's massive trade surplus.

The agreements came on the first day of a series of trade talks that Washington hopes will yield real progress on increasing U.S. exports to China. Washington's trade deficit with China will likely surpass last year's record $233 billion, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures, amplifying calls in Congress for punishing legislation over what some call unfair Chinese trade practices.

Coinciding with talks, China announced that its global trade surplus totaled $26.28 billion in November, showing demand for low-cost Chinese goods has not waned despite recalls and warnings over faulty or tainted products, ranging from toothpaste to tires.

During the first 11 months of the year, China's global trade surplus totaled $238.9 billion, 53 percent greater than the same period a year ago, the Chinese government said.

Trade officials from both sides warned of protectionism with the new trade figures likely to complicate talks. U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the answer was to boost U.S. exports rather than limit imports from China.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi attended a ceremony marking the opening of the New York Stock Exchange's representative office in Beijing — a bid to attract more listings from China's rapidly expanding economy. They cut a red ribbon strewn across a brightly festooned stage at a villa on the scenic grounds of the Diaoyutai State Guest House, where Tuesday's talks were held.

In later remarks, Gutierrez praised a long-awaited tourism accord that allows Chinese groups to travel to the United States, saying that would "open a large and growing market for the U.S. travel and tourism industry."

Other agreements include the development and production of biofuels, opening China's second-tier cities to U.S. exports, and expanding U.S. access to Chinese markets for goods and services, from agriculture to telecommunications.

China's exports have come under intense scrutiny this year following a number of potentially deadly chemicals have been found in goods including toothpaste, toys and seafood.