Beijing: US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez started a five-day visit to China today (Nov 13, 2006), focusing on export opportunities for US-based enterprises and bilateral trade issues.

Gutierrez is accompanied by a 'high-powered mission' consisting of 25 big firms, including companies already operating in China such as Lucent Technologies or McGraw-Hill, and newcomers like Westinghouse and America's second-largest insurance company Aon Group.

By helping American firms expand their exports to China, the mission aims to reduce the US trade deficit with Beijing, according to a statement from the US Department of Commerce.

Gutierrez told US media before his departure that the US had significant opportunities to increase its export volume to China.

Experts with China's ministry of commerce said both sides have been making active efforts to develop trade relations after Beijing and Washington initiated a Sino-US strategic dialogue mechanism in September.

But Mei Xinyu with the research institute of the ministry said it was unrealistic to expect to reverse the trend in the short term.

"China's trade surplus with the US will continue to rise," he predicted.

China's trade surplus with the US grew to $102.2 billion in the first nine months this year, which served to strain relations between Beijing and its major trading partner.