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China Eases U.S. Trade Rules

Countries pledge to strengthen economic relationship.

In a “win-win” agreement, China pledged to loosen trade restrictions for U.S. companies, which would remove barriers to government contracts and could provide a foothold to U.S. mutual funds. “We are seeing very promising shifts in the direction of Chinese economic policy,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The agreement came after two days of talks, and top officials on both sides agreed to meet once a year in the future for Strategic and Economic Dialogue. A senior Chinese finance official went as far as to describe the deal as “win-win,” although Geithner stressed that China needs to allow its yuan currency to rise more rapidly. Despite concerns about the yuan, U.S. businesses welcomed the commitment.