MNI POLICY: China Says Vice Premier Liu to Lead US Trade Talk

     BEIJING (MNI) - Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will head to Washington D.C. in

the second week of October for the 13th round of high-level trade negotiations,

Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said at a press conference on Sunday in

Beijing. 

     The trip follows a recent "constructive" vice-ministerial talk, said Wang,

who gave the information when asked to confirm if the meeting was to take place

on Oct 10. Wang didn't give an exact date of Liu's departure. 

     "The two sides should seek a solution through equal dialogues," Wang said

little beyond repeating the official line.  

     The "huge market that China has" is irresistible despite economic and trade

frictions and some restrictions, Wang said when asked to address rising U.S.

government restrictions on investments in China.

     "China sincerely supports foreign investment" and will further open up its

market, said Wang. 

     Separately, Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming said at the same briefing

that China has increased alternative origins of pork imports, imports of other

types of meat and sold pork reserves to help tame surging prices. 

     In the first eight months, pork imports rose 40.4% to 1.2 million tons

while beef imports gained 53.6% to 980,000 tons, Qian said. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

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