Top US officials will tour major East Asian nations, including
China, to discuss issues of trade and security in the region,
according to US Departments of Treasury and State.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, continuing efforts to deal
with US' huge trade gap with China, will make his third visit to
the country next month since joining President George W. Bush's
Cabinet in July.
The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that Paulson will
meet in Beijing with government officials on March 7 and deliver a
major speech on China's capital markets in Shanghai on March 8.
Paulson announced recently he was setting up a telephone hotline
to connect him with Vice-Premier Wu Yi, his counterpart in a new
high-level dialogue designed to ease trade tensions between the two
nations.
Paulson also announced he had tapped Alan Holmer, a
pharmaceutical executive and former top trade official in the
administration of President George Bush, to be his top deputy
overseeing the China discussions. The next meeting of the US-China
dialogue is scheduled for May 23-24 in Washington.
Paulson will also visit Tokyo for meetings on March 5 with
Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi and Toshihiko Fukui, the head of
Japan's central bank.
On March 6, Paulson will meet in Seoul, with top finance
officials in the Republic of Korea, Treasury spokeswoman Brookly
McLaughlin said.
The US State Department also said on Wednesday that US Deputy
Secretary of State John D. Negroponte will travel to Japan, China,
and the Republic of Korea from March 1-6.
(China Daily February 23, 2007)
