When Beijing announced its $586 billion economic stimulus plan earlier this year, optimists hoped it might help the U.S. address a nagging problem: its staggering trade deficit with China. With the Chinese economy growing more briskly once more, the reasoning went, mainland companies would suck in lots of U.S. machinery and technology just as financially strapped American consumers bought fewer Chinese DVD players, sneakers, and the like.rnThose hopes may have been overblown. Though the U.S. trade deficit has slimmed, Beijing has recently introduced a host of policies aimed at boosting exports while making it harder for foreign companies to sell in the mainland. China has renewed steps that keep its currency undervalued against the dollar, reinstated tax breaks on exports, and told government entities to buy Chinese products.
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