Tech deals benefit US, China ( 2004-01-14 23:13) (China Daily)
Technology contracts worth billions signed between
Chinese and American firms on Tuesday in Washington are yet another step to
reduce the huge trade deficit between the countries -- but the United States
could take more steps to narrow the gap, a senior Chinese official said.
Lou Qinjian, vice-minister of the Ministry of Information Industry said at
the contract-signing ceremony: "If the US relaxed strict controls on high-tech
exports to China, there would be a definite decrease in the trade deficit."
The US has export controls on goods that could have potential military uses.
US Commerce Secretary Don Evans said the "agreements will help generate
corporate revenue, and will support high-tech manufacturing jobs in many
American communities". Competitively-priced Chinese products have partly been
blamed for the job losses in the US, a sensitive issue -- specially in an
election year.
Evans said the technology deals were "another clear demonstration of the
growing economic and trade relationships between the two countries".
Among the deals done on Tuesday:
* Motorola signed a US$556 million one-year contract to upgrade China
Unicom's GSM network and expand its CDMA network.
The company also clinched a US$510 million contract with China Mobile to
expand its GSM network and improve data services in Beijing and 13 provinces.
The work is scheduled for completion by the year-end.
* Lucent Technologies signed contracts with China Unicom and China Telecom
Corp Ltd worth more than US$350 million.
* UTStarcom signed a US$200 million contract for telecommunications-access
equipment in 12 provinces.
* Ericsson signed a US$93 million contract with China Unicom for
infrastructure expansion.
Analysts said the slew of deals, apart from reducing the trade deficit,
reflect enhanced trade in the IT sector.
"The purchases are a reflection of domestic enterprises' need to further
expand their businesses, as many local firms are not able to provide high-tech
equipment," said Chen Jinqiao, director of the China Academy of
Telecommunications Research under the Ministry of Information Industry (MII).
But he sounded a note of caution.
"The large amount of purchases may also have some negative impact on the
research and development of domestic enterprises," Chen said.
"We have long been in an unfavourable position in international
competitiveness for lack of key technologies, though we have many advantages
such as cheap labour costs.
"Therefore we should work harder to enhance our research and development."
He also called on the United States to loosen controls on transfer of
technology.
Analysts agree that the equipment sales are the latest in a series of
high-profile deals to offset the trade surplus between the two sides.
In the last two months, Chinese enterprises inked deals worth close to US$9
billion with American giants such as General Electric, General Motors and
Boeing; and agricultural-produce contracts.
Chinese officials predict that China's trade surplus with the United States
to be US$53 billion for 2003.
"To effectively narrow the trade surplus between the two sides, the United
States should further lift its market access and relax export controls to
China," said Lu Jinyong, a research fellow at the Research Centre for the WTO
under the University of International Business and Economics.
But he saw no immediate sign of further liberalization of US export-control
policies with regard to China.
"Such purchases are a temporary measure to balance bilateral trade," he said.
"In the long run, it will fade away as the enterprises become more and more
independent,'' Lu said.