BEIJING, June 29: President Bill Clinton's trip to China began to pay dividends for businesses today, with major US corporations announcing contracts worth some $ 2 billion dollars. A deal for 27 Boeing aircrafts was also signed. Chinese and US officials held a high-profile signing ceremony in Beijing on Monday and witnessed the signing of seven contracts.US Commerce secretary William Daley and Chinese foreign trade officials witnessed the signing of $ 1.2 billion dollar Boeing contract comprised formal contracts for one Boeing 747 and 16 Boeing 737s worth 800 million dollars and an intent to buy 10 additional Boeing 737s worth 400 million dollars. Boeing president Ray Bracy said, ten of the aircraft are new orders worth about $ 400 million. The remaining 17 have been carried over from a 50-plane deal signed in October during Chinese leader's Jiang Zemin's trip to the United State last fall.
The other six contracts are: 161.7 million dollar deal for General Electric to sell turbine power generators tothe China Huaneng Group and a 400 million dollar agreement for Phoschem Cargill Hydro Farmland to sell two million dollars of Chemical fertiliser to SinoChem. International Business Machines Corp (IBM) and the China Great Wall Computing Group made a 76.85 million dollar capital increase on an existing project. A coal bed methane exploration contract between China's CBM ARCO and Phillips Petroleum Co that will reach 30 million dollars of investment was agreed.
Also signed were a letter of intent on urban air quality monitoring between China's State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA) and the US Environmental Pro Tection Agency and a five million dollar deal between SEPA and the US-based Dasibi Co for the purchase of air monitoring equipment.``Clinton's visit has set a good precedent for future commercial cooperation with China. We are pleased,'' said Bracy.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.