House Republicans pressed an administration official Wednesday to take a harder line with China on opening its markets to the United States.
At a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing, multiple GOP lawmakers expressed frustration at the fact that China has not opened its markets to U.S. firms to same extent that the American market is open to them.
“It seems we take two or three steps forward, China will take one step forward, and we declare it a tie,” said Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.).
“The United States are making commitments, and the Chinese are making comments, and that’s a concern,” added Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.), who chaired the hearing.
The debate came one week after the Federal Reserve, for the first time, approved the purchase of U.S. bank branches by a Chinese bank. The move allowed the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which is 70 percent owned by the Chinese government, to take an 80 percent stake in a Hong Kong-based bank with 13 branches in the United States. The Fed also allowed two other Chinese banks to open branches in New York and Chicago.
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