U.S., China to Relax Trade Limits

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US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke listens to a speech made by China's Vice Premier Wang Qishan in Hangzhou.

HANGZHOU, China—The U.S. and China agreed to relax agriculture, technology, travel and other trade restrictions ahead of President Barack Obama's first visit to Beijing in November.

The two sides made "solid progress" that helps "both of our countries achieve balanced and sustainable growth," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Thursday at the end of a meeting of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, or JCCT.

Chen Deming, China's commerce minister, said the two sides will "jointly oppose trade and investment protectionism."

As China and the U.S. emerge as each other's second-largest trading partners, the ties are strained by a $147.3 billion trade surplus in China's favor, based on numbers through August. The imbalance carries risks for each side and sets the economic backdrop for the summit in Beijing.

Mr. Chen said the answer is "not to restrict imports from China but to promote balance."

The JCCT is a forum for dealing on nuts-and-bolts trade items, and the agreements announced Thursday could have important implications for individual sectors. Agriculture was a highlight, with Thursday's agreements paving the way for the resumption of U.S. pork exports to China, which were halted in May on Chinese fears about H1N1 influenza, known as swine flu. U.S. pork exports to China had been growing quickly, reaching $560 million last year.

In exchange, the U.S. agreed to ease a six-year-old restriction on Chinese poultry exports to the U.S.

Reflecting the Obama administration's green-energy and technology priorities, the U.S. said it won easier access for foreign companies to sell wind-power technology in China. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said 30,000 megawatts of generating capacity will be installed by year-end.

The U.S. also said China will take steps toward improving intellectual-property protection by re-examining an Internet music-distribution protocol, and beefing up protection of academic journals at Chinese libraries.

More broadly, China agreed to ease "local content" restrictions on products sold to Chinese government agencies, as well as regard products made in China by foreign companies as domestic-made items.

Details weren't released for the series of agreements reached and instead were outlined separately by the goverments after the talks concluded in a lakeside villa in Hangzhou, in eastern China.

In a move likely to unlock Chinese spending power to the benefit of U.S. airlines and other companies, tourists from around two-thirds of Chinese provinces will be able to obtain visas to visit the U.S. in travel groups, up from a third now, officials said.

As U.S.-China trade has fallen this year—two-way trade is down about 15% from 2008—disputes have gained, raising the specter of protectionism by two of the world's largest traders.

On the eve of the Hangzhou talks, Beijing took preliminary steps that could increase tariffs on U.S.-made luxury vehicles, according to an official from the Fair Trade for Imports and Exports Bureau of China's Ministry of Commerce. If the measure leads to tariffs, it is expect to affect several thousand vehicle exports from the U.S.

"The relevant government authorities have to protect China's companies and market based on World Trade Organization rules," said Mr. Chen, China's commerce minister.

It appeared to be the latest Chinese response to a decision in September by the Obama administration to hit Chinese tire exporters with punitive tariffs to protect U.S. industry from imports.

Mr. Kirk said the action didn't stand in the way of a productive meeting.

The trade representative said the two side aren't engaged in tit-for-tat trade retaliation, saying both Beijing and Washington are "acting on their legitimate rights" to enforce their trade rules.

—Denis McMahon contributed to this article.

Write to James T. Areddy at james.areddy@wsj.com