Top Treasury official heads to China as presidential candidates debate US role

A senior Treasury Department official is meeting with Chinese leaders over the next couple of days as the U.S. trade relationship with the Beijing has emerged as a key issue in the presidential campaign.

Lael Brainard, under Secretary for International Affairs, begins meetings on Wednesday in Beijing with senior Chinese economic officials over "ways to expand opportunities for U.S. workers and businesses through a more level playing field," the Treasury said. 

She also will discuss U.S. and global economic developments as well as China’s efforts to grow domestic demand.  

Meanwhile, President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney are expected to continue their saber rattling over U.S. policies with China during campaign stops on Wednesday in manufacturing heavy Ohio. 

Obama and Romney have taken to the campaign trail and the airwaves to criticize each other on how to treat Beijing and what it means to U.S. workers. 

The president is ramping up his attacks on Romney, and is expected to tear into his GOP opponent during his Ohio trip, saying he has profited from investments in Chinese companies. 

The Obama campaign released a new Web video on Wednesday accusing his opponent of backing Chinese companies that steal U.S. intellectual property. 

Meanwhile, Obama will highlight his administration’s recent action against China at the World Trade Organization over alleged illegal subsidies on autos and auto parts.

Romney, on the other hand, will argue that Obama has not been tough enough on issues of currency manipulation and intellectual property theft, costing the U.S. hundreds of thousands of jobs. He is expected to zero in on tariffs imposed by the administration on Chinese-made tires, which Republicans say have cost even more jobs. 

"The president makes clear, and has made clear since he took office, that when there are clear indications of unfair trade practices that harm American workers or harm American companies, his administration will take action," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

In late August, Brainard told reporters that China has made progress on re-balancing its economy but it needs to continue moving toward a market-oriented exchange rate.

"We obviously are very supportive of the efforts in China to ensure a soft landing, recognizing that they do face head winds, particularly from Europe, given the large degree of export exposure there," she said.

Still, China is positioned to make needed changes to its economy's framework — moving to a more flexible exchange rate policy, focusing on intellectual property rights, opening its government procurement market, eliminating preferential treatment of state-owned enterprises and moving away from an export-driven economy, she has said. 

"We think there's a lot of capacity to do that and we're going to continue to press in that direction," she said.

In a July speech, Brainard said the administration’s engagement with China has been "intensive and highly prioritized since day one, from the White House and across all economic agencies."

"We have worked hard to find common ground, recognizing that the first and second largest economies share an overwhelming interest in building a more robust global economy," she said.

"It will not work with below-market input prices, an undervalued exchange rate and pervasive intellectual property violations," she said. 

"We have made significant progress, but we know, just as you do, that what matters is not just what we agree to on paper, but what really happens on the ground."