US to press China for deals

US officials will press China to purchase US aircraft, agricultural products and auto parts when Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives for a state visit this week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The highlight of the trip is expected to be the sale of Boeing jets, valued at tens of billions of US dollars. Many analysts see the deals as a means by which the United States can emphasize that its often fraught relationship with China is still commercially sound and that trade with China can translate into US jobs as well as dent the US$250 billion trade gap between the two countries in 2010. Hu is expected to be in Chicago on Friday, where he will meet with US and Chinese business leaders.