May 24 (China Military News cited from Bloomberg) -- China pressed the U.S. to provide a timetable for relaxing restraints on technology exports after Commerce Secretary Gary Locke pledged to scale back the number of products covered by the restrictions.

“China is pleased to note the U.S. initiative to relax U.S. export controls,” Wang Qishan, vice premier of China, said at the start of the Security and Economic Dialogue in Beijing today. “We hope to hear from the U.S. side in detail a timetable and road map on gradually removing barriers on high-tech exports to China.”

Chinese officials, business leaders, students and reporters have questioned U.S. restrictions requiring licenses for the export of civilian technology that could have military applications during Locke’s weeklong trade mission to China.

PLA Army's "Black Hawk" Helicopter in Wenchuan Earthquack

Locke said a review of the controls, which would scale back the number of items covered by the measures and impose tighter restrictions on those items, would be completed this summer.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the Chinese government on non-proliferation and with Chinese companies on export control compliance practices that are consistent with international standards,” Kevin Griffis, a Commerce spokesman, said in an e-mail. Still “the impact of U.S. export controls on high-tech trade with China is extremely small.”

Of the $63.4 billion in U.S. Exports to China in 2009, only 0.3 percent required a commerce license, according to Commerce Department data. Less than 2 percent of all such license applications to China were denied, it said.

Wang also pressed the U.S. to grant China so-called market economy status, a designation that could limit the size of anti- dumping duties on Chinese products. That change requires China to meet legal barriers on labor and foreign exchange, Locke said May 19.