US, China agree to talks on guidelines for export credit financing

The US and China agreed to open talks to establish regulations for Chinese export-credit financing, with the aim of concluding an agreement by 2014, Reuters reported. The announcement came after US President Barack Obama met with China’s expected next president, Xi Jinping. The two countries aim to make “concrete progress towards a set of international guidelines on the provision of official export financing that… are consistent with international best practices,” the White House said in a statement. US businesses largely greeted news of the decision. “This is a welcome development, because China is not now under any export financing disciplines at all,” said Frank Vargo, vice president for international economic affairs at the National Association of Manufacturers. The US, EU nations, Australia, Canada, Japan and others already have restrictions on the use of government export credits.