US and China sign US$4bn in deals

Deals worth more than US$4 billion were signed by US and Chinese companies on Thursday in the build up to President Hu Jintao's visit to America later this month. A Chinese delegation of more than 200 executives from 110 state and private sector companies, visiting the US with Vice Premier Wu Yi, reached agreements with 27 US companies. The biggest deal came in at US$1 billion and involved Flextronics which works with automotive, industrial, medical and technology companies on developing electronics products. GE energy has also secured a US$350 million contract for power generation equipment and deals have been made with auto giants GM, Ford and Daimler Chrysler worth US$306 million, US$110 million and US$80 million respectively. Vice Premier Wu will go on to Washington for meetings with US officials on measures to ease trade tensions between the two nations.