US Presses China on Its Currency

Duties will be reduced on an array of imports, including energy products and some consumer goods, China's State Council said on Monday, without giving more details.

The White House is pushing Beijing to cut tariffs and reverse a currency policy that many in the US believe hands Chinese manufacturers an unfair advantage.

The State Council also ordered the country's local governments to "appropriately enlarge" the import of consumer goods. Government departments and local administrations in China must "adjust their focus on encouraging exports and limiting imports and place equal emphasis on both", the State Council said.

Analysts say that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also has his own political and economic incentives to make domestic Chinese consumption a bigger driver of the country's economy.

With parts of Europe in recession and unemployment still high in the US, China cannot rely as much as it did on Western demand for its manufactured goods.
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Although the world's fastest-growing largest economy expanded 8.1pc in the first quarter, the government has cut its growth forecast to 7.5pc for the rest of the year.

Mr Geithner is travelling to Beijing with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday for two days of talks that are expected to range from the often tense economic relationship between the two nations to foreign policy issues such as North Korea.

With an election just six months away, President Barack Obama is under pressure to sharpen his rhetoric against the longstanding Chinese policy of curbing the strength of its currency, the yuan, against the dollar.

The US Treasury has delayed the publication of a report into the currency policies of a variety of countries, including China, which many in Congress are hoping will officially brand China a manipulator of its currency.

The US trade deficit with China climbed 8pc to $295bn (£181bn) last year, leaving The White House open to accusations from both US business leaders and unions that it is not putting enough pressure on Beijing to open up its markets to foreign businesses.

Mitt Romney, the Republican most likely to run against Mr Obama in November's election, has made attacks on China a central part of his message to voters worried about the uncertain outlook for the economy. US businesses have complained loudly this year that the Chinese government should make it easier for foreign companies to do business there and also respect the intellectual property rights of companies.