Paulson Elevates Product Safety to Top of China Talks Agenda.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will elevate the safety of imported goods to the top of his agenda in Beijing as he tries to convince Americans of the benefits of trade with China.

Paulson opens the third session of his twice-a-year Strategic Economic Dialogue with Vice Premier Wu Yi today. He said in a Dec. 7 interview in Washington that product safety will be the priority, a shift from the first two gatherings, when the pace of China's exchange-rate gains was the main focus. [...]

"It's going to be very hard for Paulson to get anything done in a politically expedient timetable and everyone's attention is going to be wildly divergent next year," said Charles Freeman, a former China official at the U.S. Trade Representative's office, and now a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

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