CHINA CONCEDES LITTLE AT US SUMMIT
China yesterday agreed a new aviation deal with the US but offered only limited concessions in financial services at the conclusion of top-level economic talks in Washington.The financial sector opening will help foreign groups access China's booming stock market, but fell short of the far-reaching liberalisation sought by Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary.
With no new commitments on the currency – not even mentioned in the closing statements – the outcome is unlikely to satisfy China's critics in Congress.
Beijing said it would lift the block on new securities joint ventures and let these firms participate in a wider range of activities. Foreign banks would be allowed to issue credit and debit cards, and the ceiling on the amount qualified foreign institutional investors could invest in domestic financial markets would rise from $10bn to $30bn.
But the delegation led by vice-premier Wu Yi rebuffed US calls to let foreign securities firms set up wholly owned subsidiaries.
China also refused to lift ownership caps on foreign investment in domestic banks or to permit foreign companies to buy into domestic brokerages.
Mr Paulson, who personally pressed Ms Wu for financial reform, said the steps were “incremental changes”.
The aviation deal, while not as ambitious as the US wanted, paves the way for a significant expansion of bilateral passenger and cargo traffic.
Flights between the US and China will more than double from 10 to 23 a day by 2012. The awarding of routes and access to new entrants will be accelerated.
China agreed to an open skies deal for cargo from 2011, but would discuss a similar deal for passenger services only from March 25 2011.
The US and China said they would extend co-operation on energy, and expand trade in environmental goods and services.
Mr Paulson said “tangible results from our efforts thus far” were “signposts on the long-term strategic road, building confidence and enabling us to continue moving forward together”.
But “we have much more work to do”, he added.
He had told the Chinese it was impossible to build world-class capital markets with joint venture firms and had pressed for faster currency appreciation.
Ms Wu said the announcements yesterday reflected China's acknowledgement of the need to “accommodate as appropriate hot spot questions in current China-US economic and trade relations”.
In an apparent reference to recent US decisions to take cases against China to the World Trade Organisation, she said bilateral disputes should be handled through “direct consultation and dialogue between us instead of easy resort to threat or sanction”. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to hold another round of the strategic economic dialogue in Beijing
在美中高层经济对话闭幕之际，中国与美国昨日达成了一项新的航空协议，但中方在金融服务方面只作出了有限让步。
中国开放金融业的举措，将有助于外资集团进入中国蓬勃发展的股市，但尚未达到美国财政部长汉克•保尔森(Hank Paulson)所寻求的那种深远的自由化。
由于在人民币汇率问题上没有作出新的承诺——闭幕声明中甚至没有提到这个问题——这一结果不太可能令美国国会中批评中国的人士满意。
中国政府表示，将取消对新证券合资公司的限制，并让这些公司参与更为广泛的活动。将允许外资银行发行信用卡和借记卡，同时对合格的外国机构投资者，其在中国国内金融市场的投资上限将从100亿美元升至300亿美元。
但由中国国务院副总理吴仪率领的中国代表团，拒绝了美国希望允许外资证券公司在华设立全资子公司的要求。
中国还拒绝取消外资在中国国内银行的持股比例限制，同时拒绝允许外资公司入股国内经纪公司。
保尔森本人已就金融改革问题向吴仪施压，他表示，这些措施是“渐进性的变革”。
此次达成的航空协议，虽然不像美国期望的那样雄心勃勃，但为美中双边客货运输的大幅扩张铺平了道路。
到2012年，美中两国间每日航班班次将增加1倍以上，从每日10个班次升至23个班次。为市场新入者提供的线路和准入将有所加速。
中国同意达成一项自2011年起实行的货运开放天空协议，但只会从2011年3月25日才开始讨论一项类似的客运服务协议。
美中双方表示，它们将扩大在能源方面的合作，同时扩大在环境商品和服务方面的贸易。
保尔森表示，“迄今为止我们努力所获得的切实成果”都是“长期战略道路上的路标，它们鼓舞了信心，并且使我们得以继续共同前行”。
但他补充称，“我们还有很多工作要做”。
他向中国代表团表示，通过合资公司建立世界级资本市场是不可能的，同时要求加速人民币汇率升值。
吴仪表示，昨日的声明反映出，中国承认需要“去适当调整以适应当前中美经贸关系中出现的热点问题”。
吴仪表示，双边纠纷应通过“我们之间的直接协商和对话、而非简单地诉诸威胁或制裁的手段”加以解决，她显然指的是近来美国向世界贸易组织(WTO)提出针对中国的申诉的决定。美中双方重申，将在北京举行第三次战略经济对话。
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