China and US move to defuse trade tensions

China and the US moved into a third day of high-level meetings today in talks that could help defuse brewing trade and military tensions.

US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick met with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo yesterday for a ”whole day of discussions,” the official Xinhua News Agency said.

“Both sides exchanged views in a candid and in-depth manner,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in statement on its Web site. “Both sides agreed the dialogue was helpful and constructive and was helpful to improving mutual understanding.”

It did not give any details on the content of the discussions.

Zoellick also met with Premier Wen Jiabao and was scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing today.

Tensions have risen due to American concerns over rampant product piracy and an influx of inexpensive Chinese textiles into the US since a worldwide textile quota system ended January 1. Washington says the surge of clothing imports is harming American textile producers.

The strain has been further aggravated by US worries over China’s military buildup and the proposed takeover of the oil company Unocal by a Chinese state-run company.

Earlier this month, a Chinese general told foreign reporters that Beijing might use atomic bombs against American forces in a conflict over Taiwan, causing a diplomatic uproar.

The State Department criticised the remarks as “highly irresponsible” and asked for Chinese assurances that the general’s comments did not reflect official thinking.

Li then said that China would not first use nuclear weapons “at any time and under any condition.”

China and Taiwan split during civil war in 1949 but Beijing still claims the self-ruled island as its territory and has threatened war if it declares formal independence or puts off talks on unification.

Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but it has strong informal ties with Taiwan and is its top arms provider.

The talks are the first in what is meant to be a regular series of high-level contacts, with Beijing and Washington taking turns as hosts.

China refers to the meetings as a “strategic dialogue,” while the US calls them a “senior dialogue.”