Meese Calls On China to Ease Business Rules : U.S. Executives Wary of System, Session Told

BEIJING —  U.S. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III reminded China on Wednesday that it must provide attractive conditions to entice American investors, who have grown wary of what some call the inconsistency and unpredictability of the Chinese system.

Meese spoke at the end of U.S.-Sino Joint Session on Trade, Investment and Economic Law, the largest such gathering in Chinese history, with more than 1,500 American and Chinese lawyers and business executives here for the discussions.

The three-day meeting was marked by tough statements on both sides. Chinese officials criticized American protectionism and what they call excessive restrictions on technology transfers. The Americans listed the numerous frustrations that American executives face in China.

Meese, co-chairman of the conference with Chinese Justice Minister Zou Yu, told a news conference he was “gratified that they were willing to be that candid and frank as we were in our remarks about the concerns we have with the Chinese legal system.”

“People didn’t pull any punches,” he said.

Ingenuity Stressed

In his speech, Meese advised China to welcome an expanded American legal presence in the country, inspire foreign confidence with consistent laws, open domestic markets and address foreign grievances about high prices and taxes.

“The ingenuity of millions of individual entrepreneurs, small enterprises and their lawyers contributes to better economic decision making than the centralized planning of government bureaucracies,” he said.

Protecting intellectual property, he added, “needs considerable attention.” He noted that China had made some advances in patent and copyright law, but said American high-technology companies will avoid China unless given adequate protection.

China must realize, he said, that in the United States, “the government does not own the means of production and therefore cannot require business to make specific decisions.”

Therefore, he said, “what China does to provide an attractive economic climate is the critical factor for future American business decisions.”

Except for Hong Kong, the United States is the biggest foreign investor in China and was Beijing’s third-largest trade partner in 1986, with business worth more than $8 billion. But some of the early enthusiasm for entering the China market has waned because of the difficulties of doing business here.

Zou, the Chinese justice minister, said at the closing session that China’s policy of opening to the outside world will not change.

“The great door that China has already opened will be opened even further,” he said. “China’s people promise that coming here to do business will be profitable.”