Here are some choice bits:
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday that the recalls of tainted Chinese products were causing fear among U.S. consumers. He called on China to take bold moves to address that and other economic problems facing the two countries. [this is in addition to all the other QC reforms that were put in place over the past few months?]
He said China needs to move aggressively to refocus its economy, fight off protectionist forces and address the growing concerns about tainted Chinese imports.
Paulson said the effectiveness with which China addresses the safety concerns will have long-term implications for U.S.-China trade relations. He cautioned that policymakers in both countries should focus on science-based safety decisions rather than "protectionism or retaliation."
Paulson said that the needed [currency] reforms in China were being resisted by "increasingly influential Chinese businesses."
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said Tuesday that the administration would use this year's JCCT meeting to discuss barriers the Chinese have erected that prevent a variety of American companies from doing business in China. He said that U.S. telecommunications companies are barred from selling basic services while banks, securities firms, insurance companies and direct-sales marketing firms face a variety of obstacles.
"There are whole sectors of the Chinese economy where American companies are restricted from investing, doing business or offering services," Gutierrez said.
Not to disagree with any one of these comments in particular, but this stuff does add up. I think that there is a whole department of government officials in the State Council whose job it is to keep track of every time a foreign country disses the PRC. With all those comments by U.S. officials, the folks here in Beijing are eventually going to get very pissy.