US urged to lift tech export ban

WASHINGTON - Vice-President Xi Jinping called on the United States to adjust its economic policies and end restrictions on high-tech exports to China, which he said would help level out the trade imbalance between the two nations.

In a luncheon speech on Wednesday, Xi said China's trade surplus dropped from more than 7 percent of GDP to 2 percent of GDP last year, placing it within a normal range by international standards.

"The reform of the renminbi exchange rate formation mechanism has played an important role in this process," Xi said.