China will take measures to meet US complaints about their bilateral trade imbalance as part of next month's trip to Washington by Hu Jintao, Chinese president, but has warned the US also to take responsibility for its economic problems.

U.S. Senators South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham (R) and Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, talk to the media at a hotel lobby in Beijing March 22, 2006. They are co-authoring a bill that threatens to impose a tariff of 27.5 percent on Chinese imports into the United States unless Beijing revalues the yuan "at or near its fair market value." [Reuters]

Wen Jiabao, China's premier, in unreported comments to a forum of foreign business executives on Monday evening, promised new initiatives on issues such as abuse of intellectual property rights, a long-running complaint of investors.

"But it is unfair for the US to scapegoat China for the US's own structural economic problems," Mr Wen added, according to two executives at the closed meeting, and asked that this comment be relayed to the American people.

Mr Wen's comments coincide with a surge in bilateral talks and exchanges in an effort by China to lay the foundations for a successful visit by Mr Hu and also head off rising protectionist pressures in the US.

China is hosting this week the US senators Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, who co-authored a bill to impose 27.5 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports unless Beijing substantially revalues the renminbi.

Mr Schumer said in Beijing yesterday they were not in China "to dictate specific markers", but wanted to see a "pattern of progress" with the Chinese currency.

"To say that there's been no progress would be wrong?.?.?.? we would like to get an idea from our Chinese hosts what the future is going to be like," he said.

China has given the senators markedly higher level access than usually accorded to visiting US politicians, arranging meetings with the foreign and commerce ministers and also with Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China.

Mr Wen's call for Washington to take responsibility for the US trade deficit with China finds sympathy in the US among economists who blame the imbalance on America¡¯s chronic shortage of savings.

Stephen Roach, chief economist for Morgan Stanley, said the imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods would simply mean that the trade deficit would gravitate to another foreign country, and most likely one with a higher cost structure.

"Such a shift in America's external sourcing would amount to the functional equivalent of a tax on the American consumer," he said in paper delivered in Beijing at the weekend.

In Shanghai, Kharan Bhatia, deputy US trade representative, said a more flexible Chinese currency would help redress the large structural imbalances in the global economy.

Mr Bhatia added that the US would consider taking action at the World Trade Organisation over trade disputes with China, but refused to give details of specific possible complaints.