WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao's U.S. visit comes at a time when American businesses are irate over several trade restrictions Beijing has planned, experts say.
Objections to the restrictions come on top of the controversy over China's undervalued yuan between the two economic giants. Hu was expected to be confronted with the trade restriction issue when he attends a meeting of a group of 18 U.S. and Chinese business leaders in Washington Wednesday, along with host President Barack Obama.
The trade restrictions within China include administrative controls, requirements to transfer sophisticated technology, state subsidies to favored domestic companies and laws to favor homegrown businesses, The New York Times reported.
Experts told the Times American manufacturing and high-tech companies are irate, as the restrictions are keeping them out of the fastest growing market in the world's second-largest economy, while adding to bilateral economic tensions such as over currency and cheap Chinese textile, electronic and toy imports.
Cornell University economist Eswar Shanker Prasad told the Times the concern is how far competing Chinese companies with support from their government will go to beat back efforts of U.S. companies such as General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp. that want to expand in China.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vice President Myron Brilliant said concern about issues like Chinese dumping remain but the "competition is about China's marketplace."
The report said these issues will allow Obama to win stronger support from American businesses to take a tougher approach in his talks with Hu.
Michael Froman, a White House adviser on national security and international economic affairs, told the Times U.S. official would be "underscoring the importance of addressing these issues if we're going to have a level playing field."
