US to raise smart grid issue in Nov 20-21 China talks

The United States will push China to take "concrete and measurable" steps to boost U.S. exports.

The annual U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, or JCCT, meeting on Nov. 20-21 "is an important opportunity to address and resolve key trade concerns with China," U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson said in a statement.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will travel with Bryson to Chengdu for the talks just a week after President Barack Obama hosts Chinese President Hu Jintao and other Asia-Pacific leaders in Honolulu for an annual summit meeting.

Obama is expected to press Hu on China's currency practices, which many U.S. lawmakers believe give Chinese companies an unfair trade advantage and has become an issue in next year's presidential election.

"Through this year's JCCT, we are pressing China for concrete and measurable results on a number of significant issues including China's policies on intellectual property rights, investment and innovation, as well as a range of sector-specific industrial policies," Kirk said.

Last month, the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate passed a bill to crack down on the practice, but the Republican-run House of Representatives has refused to take up the measure on the grounds it could start a trade war.

House Democrats waged another effort on Thursday to force action on the bill, but were turned back.

"We will continue to press for action on this measure until the House is allowed to work its will," Representative Sander Levin, a senior Democrat, said after the effort failed.

At the 2010 JCCT, China promised action on a long list of U.S. concerns, including the development of "smart grid" standards that threaten to prevent U.S. sales.

Administration officials said they believed the JCCT dialogue had opened up significant commercial opportunities in areas such as smart grid electric power transmission systems.