$14 bn Sino-US deals announced

Leading businesses in China and the US, seeking to overcome mutual suspicion of foreign investment, announced $14 billion in new business deals on Monday, on the eve of high-level economic talks to ease tensions between the two countries.

The deals involve $8 billion in Chinese investments and purchases of aircraft engines, telecommunications equipment, semiconductors and electronic components, said Chen Deming, minister of commerce in China. He added that $6 billion in other deals involved American purchases and investments in China.

Among the American companies signing deals at the United States Chamber of Commerce were Chrysler, Cisco Systems, Ford Motor, General Motors, IBM, Motorola, Sun Microsystems, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.

Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson Jr, who will be leading a delegation of Bush administration officials at the talks beginning on Tuesday in Annapolis, Maryland, said the sessions were not meant to resolve specific disputes but instead to discuss how to overcome economic downturns.