China Agrees to Fight Piracy, Lift Beef Ban

The Bush administration said Tuesday that China had agreed to crack down on the piracy of American computer programs and lift a ban on U.S. beef as part of an effort to reduce a record $202-billion trade gap.

The commitments were among several that China made during a high-level meeting designed to reduce trade tensions in advance of next week’s U.S. visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman led the U.S. delegation at the annual meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. The Chinese side was led by Vice Premier Wu Yi.

The administration said that in the area of piracy, the Chinese had agreed to require that computers use legal software and to step up enforcement of intellectual property rights. They also pledged to close factories that are producing pirated CDs and DVDs.

Also Tuesday, the Chinese continued a multibillion-dollar buying spree of American products by signing a commercial airliner deal with Boeing Co. valued at $4.6 billion.

“Our message to China has been consistent and clear,” Portman said. “American exporters, workers, farmers and service providers deserve the same access that China has to our markets.”

Gutierrez said China had agreed to reopen its market to U.S. beef after clearing up some technical issues.

The administration has been pushing the Chinese for greater commitments to deal with trade barriers, which U.S. companies contend are costing them billions of dollars in lost sales, and to stop holding down the value of their currency in relation to the dollar.

The administration is under growing political pressure to show progress in dealing with a soaring trade deficit with China that critics say has contributed to the loss of nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2000.

The administration said China also had agreed to begin negotiations to join an agreement administered by the World Trade Organization that governs the standards foreign firms must meet when bidding for government contracts. Gutierrez said China would submit its proposal no later than the end of 2007.

That was crucial for companies that hoped to break into China’s multibillion-dollar market for government contracts.

The National Assn. of Manufacturers said the package of commitments represented “incremental contributions” to solving the trade gap between the two countries.

“They need to be followed by systemic changes that will put our trade relationship on a more fair basis,” said Frank Vargo, the organization’s vice president.