Chinese government signs business deals

The more than 30 agreements covered a wide range of U.S. companies from General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. to Cisco Systems Inc., IBM Corp. and Motorola Inc.

"These partnerships will stimulate American jobs and contribute to our country's economic growth," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Donohue. "Signing these contracts is an example of the strong commercial bonds being forged between the United States and China."

No breakdown was provided on all the agreements, although Chamber officials estimated the deals could result in billions of dollars in trade and investment for U.S.-based firms. The Chinese have led similar buying missions to the United States in advance of other high-level trade meetings.

Participating in the signing ceremony for the Chinese side were Vice Premier Wang Qishan and Commerce Minister Chen Deming.

Both countries are scheduled to hold two days of talks beginning Tuesday in Annapolis, Md., in what will be the fourth round of the Strategic Economic Dialogue, which was first launched two years ago by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Paulson will be joined by other top members of Bush's Cabinet including Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao and Mike Leavitt, secretary of health and human services.

The administration has used the talks to press China to move faster to allow its currency to rise in value against the dollar. U.S. manufacturers contend that China's undervalued currency is a major reason America's trade deficit with China has soared, hitting $256 billion last year.

But it is not expected that the United States will win any big breakthroughs on currency or other issues at this week's talks, in part because the Chinese may prefer to hold back and negotiate with a new administration next year. The Bush administration has also approached the discussions mindful that they are taking place in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in China.

However, U.S. business groups said it would be in China's interests to show flexibility in some of the trade disputes between the two countries in order to convince the next administration that the high-level strategic dialogue is worth continuing.