US, China strike $45b in export deals

China and the US have agreed to US$45 billion in export deals and to give US companies more access to China’s US$88 billion-plus government contracts market, Reuters reported. The agreements come at the start of Chinese President Hu Jintao’s four-day visit to Washington. The deals include China’s "final" approval of a US$19 billion contract to buy Boeing (BA.NYSE) aircraft for delivery between 2011 and 2013. In addition, another deal involving General Electric (GE.NYSE) builds on an existing partnership with China’s Ministry of Railways to bring Chinese high-speed rail technology to the US, and for GE to manufacture locomotives for the mainland. The announcements highlight Hu and US President Barack Obama’s efforts to play up economic cooperation. However, the size of the deals will make little impact on the huge bilateral trade deficit the US runs with China, which is estimated to be running at a record of US$275 billion in 2010.