Health key issue in China-US talks

BEIJING—Rural health care, infectious diseases and an aging population are among key issues the US will bring up with China during talks this week aimed at strengthening cooperation, the top American health official said Wednesday.
Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said he would focus on those areas, along with regulatory cooperation and technical exchanges, as part of a high-level dialogue between China and the US that will also address trade, currency and other disputes. Leavitt is part of a Cabinet delegation led by US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
“We’re coming to have this dialogue not only because we believe it’s good for the Chinese government but because we believe it’s good for the United States for China to be a strong, vibrant, integrated, harmonious society,” Leavitt told reporters. “We want to see how we can be helpful because we will benefit economically if China is prosperous and their environment and their health care and their energy ... are sustainable,” he said.
Leavitt said rural health care and the financing of medical costs - a challenge to both China and the US - is one of the priority areas he hopes to discuss during his weeklong visit. Despite economic progress, China’s health services, particularly in rural areas, have failed to keep up. President Hu Jintao’s government has promised to increase spending in the countryside, including building up a solid health care system.
Leavitt also said he would discuss China’s rapidly graying society, along with the importance of food safety and a safe supply of medicine. Counterfeit drugs and fake foods are common throughout the country and have caused mass illnesses and deaths. Leavitt was due to meet Wednesday with his Chinese counterpart, Health Minister Gao Qiang.
Earlier, he attended an opening ceremony for a collaborative office between the Chinese and US centers for disease control and prevention. The office will focus on infectious diseases such as AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and bird flu, Leavitt said. It is part of a 2005 agreement on health cooperation.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Thursday urged the United States to ease its export controls on China, saying it would help balance bilateral trade. Qin made the remarks at a regular press conference when commenting a possible US policy change.
Two dozen groups representing some of the biggest US companies, including Boeing and Microsoft, urged the Commerce Department on December 1 to scrap a proposal to tighten national security controls on exports to China. A new proposal by the US Commerce Department in July may further tighten controls, but the proposal is still under discussion.
Qin said China urged the US to create favorable conditions for the sound development of bilateral trade relations, based on mutual respect and reciprocity. Easing the export controls would also benefit the US by balancing trade, Qin said.
A high-profile U.S. delegation arrived in Beijing Wednesday afternoon for the landmark China-U.S. strategic economic dialogue, aiming at examining long-term strategic issues in bilateral trade. The delegation was led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
The economic strategic dialogue is scheduled to be held in the Great Hall of the People from Thursday to Friday. The meeting is the first under a twice-a-year strategic economic dialogue mechanism, which was launched in the Chinese capital in September.
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and Paulson will co-chair the dialogue as special representatives of Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President George W. Bush. Paulson said in his bylined article “A Broad Dialogue with China” that the dialogue will focus on “three areas: maintaining sustainable growth without large trade imbalances; continuing to open markets to trade, competition and investment; and improving energy security and the environment.”
Among Paulson’s delegation are U.S. cabinet secretaries of commerce, labor, energy and health and human services. The dialogue will also involve Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, who is paying his first visit to China. The U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab will also take part in the meetings.

—Daily Mail, People’s Daily news exchange item