Beijing, April 2:

China has drafted a plan to buy $12.5 billion worth of US goods including electronics and soybeans, a news report stated today, in a possible effort to ease tensions ahead of a high-level meeting on trade disputes. The purchases would be made in May, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing an unidentified person. That would coincide with the next round of a US-Chinese dialogue on economic disputes due to be held in Washington. Tensions flared on Friday when the US announced duties on Chinese paper imports, accusing Beijing of improperly subsidising its producers. China criticised the tariffs and demanded that Washington reverse the decision.

The economic dialogue is led by US treasury secretary Henry Paulson and Chinese vice-premier Wu Yi. Paulson has warned that it must produce short-term results to mollify American critics of Beijing’s ballooning trade surplus, which last year soared to a record$232.5 billion with the US. Under the proposed plan, China would buy $10 billion worth of mechanical and electronic goods, $2 billion worth of soybeans and $500 million worth of cotton, Dow Jones reported.

Phil Laney, the China country director for the American Soybean Association, said he expects Chinese purchases ahead of the May meeting but could not confirm the reported plan. “We think it’s true, but I couldn’t tell you details,” he said.

Spokespeople for China’s commerce ministry and cabinet news office did not immediately

respond to requests by phone and fax for comment.

Last year, China announced deals to buy $16.2 billion worth of Boeing jetliners, soybeans and other US goods in an apparent effort to ease trade tensions before president Hu Jintao visited the US. Laney said delegations from China’s machinery, cotton and poultry industries were expected to travel with Wu to Washington.

Soybeans are the biggest single US farm export to China, which has bought about 11 million tonnes worth $2 billion, since the current market year began in September, Laney said. The beans are crushed for oil and used as animal feed.

“The Chinese government understands that soybean exports from the US are very important to us,” he said. The US measures announced on Friday would impose preliminary tariffs of 10.9 per cent to 20.4 per cent on imports of Chinese sheet paper.