WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised Tuesday that US diplomats would do more to promote business interests overseas but renewed criticism of what she called unfair government support by China.
Clinton, meeting with executives from around the world, pledged that she would meet business leaders on every foreign trip and named former investment banker Heidi Rediker to a new position of State Department chief economist.
"We had fallen behind some other countries -- some of them our friends and allies -- when it came to using diplomacy to promote economic interests. American companies haven't always seen the federal government as an ally," Clinton said.
"I've directed all our senior diplomats to conduct business outreach and advocacy when they travel overseas," she said. "We will not rest until the US government is the most effective champion of business and trade anywhere."
Clinton's initiative to support businesses comes as the United States also goes on the offensive over other countries' support to corporations. Clinton said that the United States remained committed to free markets.
The United States has accused China of unfairly providing government funding in competitive areas such as renewable energy, failing to protect intellectual property rights and artificially keeping its currency low to boost exports.
"We will not stand by when our competitors don't play by the same rules. This administration has already brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate of our predecessors," Clinton said.
President Barack Obama's administration set an ambitious goal of doubling US exports, hoping that greater trade can provide new impetus to a still wobbly economy which is expected to be the top issue in November elections.
"Why, you might ask, is the secretary of state now spending as much time thinking about market swings as missile silos? Well, to put it very plainly, Americans need jobs," Clinton said.
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