U.S., China to tackle energy, currency at Annapolis meeting
With global oil prices hitting records, energy is expected to be a key topic when high-level delegations from the United States and China convene for two days of discussions at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will be heading the U.S. delegation of Cabinet officials, his fourth time to perform that role. The Chinese team will be led by a newcomer, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who took over after the retirement earlier this year of former Vice Premier Wu Yi.
Paulson came up with the idea of the talks when he joined the Bush administration in 2006 after leading investment giant Goldman Sachs. It was his belief that if the discussions between the two countries could be elevated to the highest level, then breakthroughs could be achieved on a number of thorny trade issues.
However, the results so far have been disappointing and it is uncertain whether the next administration will decide to continue the talks, known as the Strategic Economic Dialogue.
Business groups, who believe the meetings have been beneficial, said it would be wise for the Chinese to produce results as a way of convincing the next occupant of the White House to keep the talks going. But other China experts say the Chinese delegation may believe that it is not worthwhile to offer too many economic concessions to a lame-duck administration when they can wait to negotiate with a new team.
Tags: economic, investment, oil-prices, trade