No ‘Buy China’ policy

CHINA: A senior Chinese official said Monday that Beijing will not implement a “Buy China” policy similar to the “Buy America” clause in a stimulus package making its way through the US legislature.

“We won’t practise a ‘Buy China’ policy,” Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei told a press conference in Beijing.

“We’ll treat domestic and foreign products the same way as long as they are needed.” In an increasingly globalised economy, he said, China would not be able to rely solely on itself.

“Currently about 80 percent of products sold in the Chinese market are domestically produced, but a growing number of goods have to be imported from abroad,” he said.

“This goes not just for industrial raw materials, but also luxury items and agricultural products.”

The US Senate last week approved a diluted version of a “Buy America” clause in its mammoth economic stimulus bill that had angered US allies and sparked warnings of a coming trade war. The original clause would have banned spending on a project unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods involved were made in the United States.

After rejecting an amendment by Republican Senator John McCain to scrap it entirely, the Senate approved a softening in the clause’s language, requiring it to adhere to existing laws and trade treaties.

McCain warned that leaving in the provision would shame US President Barack Obama on his first foreign trip — a February 19 visit to Canada, the largest US trading partner.

Obama had also sharply criticised the restriction.

Another chance to scrap the clause completely will likely come when Senate and House of Representatives leaders hold talks to reconcile their stimulus bills.

However US Democratic Senate majority deputy leader Richard Durbin has defended the move to dilute, but not remove, the clause, saying US dollars should create US jobs.

Beijing, Monday, AFP