NPR: China-US Strategic Economic Dialogue, and The Committee of 100

A couple of very interesting reports from National Public Radio this morning.

U.S. Delegation in China for Economic Talks
The focus here is on the dialogue between US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Vice Premier Wu Yi. Mr. Paulson opened the talks by saying that "worries about the effects of foreign competition through trade or through foreign investment have led to a rise in economic nationalism and protectionist sentiments in both of our nations." These are pragmatic words that seem to seek to defuse American's stance towards China (check out China Hearsay's Panda Punchers) and Chinese perceptions of American's view of China (check out Cup of Cha's What Chinese People are Saying about our Blogs [mostly in regards to brainwashing by the West]) by implying that economic nationalism and protectionism are irrational because our nations are so dependent on each other economically. Unfortunately, this pragmatism is tainted by Mr. Paulson calling on the Chinese to raise their production standards to meet the US standards. Sure, this would help, but an anonymous Chinese product safety official reminds listeners that 85% of the 30+ million recalled toys were recalled due to defective designs, not defective production standards, and there should thus be joint responsibility for the problems. Also of note, Ms. Wu points out that the punitive trade bills currently under review in Congress would "seriously harm relations" between the nations if passed.

UPDATE:
Looks like China and US signed a product safety pact and Chinese exports to the US of food, animal feed, drugs and medical devices are going to be subject to inspections and be issued certificates that meet USDA standards.

China, a Display of Stunning Economic Activity
This is an interesting radio piece sponsored by a group that I had never about, The Committee of 100. This is a group of prominent Chinese-American politicians, business people, artists, and so forth, that are concerned with Chinese-American relations. The group focuses on providing perspective.