China agrees to import US beef
(chinadaily.com.cn/AFP)
Updated: 2006-04-12 08:19 China represents a vital market for US beef exports, accounting for 100
million dollars of beef exports before the 2003 ban, he said. "This is an
important step in our efforts to restore beef trade based on internationally
recognized guidelines," Johanns said.
Apart from trade negotiations with US officials, Wu Yi also announced that
Chinese government had signed 107 contracts with US companies worth a total of
16.2 billion dollars.
She led a mission of some 200 business leaders, including 150 chief
executives from the country's booming economy. The signed deals covered a range
of sectors, including electronics, auto parts, heavy equipment and software.
At the conclusion of the trade talks, China was to sign a deal with the US
aviation giant Boeing formalizing the purchase of 80 next generation 737 planes
by the China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Group.
A Boeing official put the value of the deal at 4.6 billion
dollars.
The deal is expected to be finalized with individual
Chinese carriers in the next few weeks.
The agreement is in addition to 70 airplanes China agreed to buy from the
Chicago-based jetmaker in November, as part of a planned 150-plane purchase.
It was announced amid high-level meetings between Chinese and U.S. officials,
and comes a week before Chinese President Hu Jintao is scheduled to visit the
United States. His trip includes a tour of Boeing's Everett, Wash. plant.
In December, China agreed to buy 150 of rival Airbus SAS' jets, in a deal
valued at more than $9 billion at list prices.
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