US, China should negotiate, Gutierrez says

Carlos Gutierrez, the US Secretary of Commerce, said his country should use negotiation rather than confrontation to address China's trade gap. The US trade deficit with China hit a record of US$202 billion last year and is on track to surpass that this year. Meanwhile, a victory by the Democratic party in congressional elections last week has added new political pressure. Speaking Tuesday after meeting with Chinese officials, Gutierrez said Beijing is already moving forward with measures to address major problems such as counterfeiting, the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> reported. However, he said, critics would still need to see more concrete results. "The important thing is that there is a great deal of understanding of what needs to be done," Gutierrez said.