The United States and China are meeting today in Washington, D.C., to discuss several economic issues, including expanding opportunities for U.S. airlines to fly to China, for U.S. banks and stock brokerage firms to conduct business in China and for the United States to reduce its growing trade deficit with the country.

The Associated Press reported that this is part of an agreement announced last fall for the two countries to meet twice a year to discuss economic issues. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is leading the U.S. delegation, which includes top officials of 10 Cabinet-level agencies and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. China’s delegation is led by Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and includes 14 Cabinet-level ministers.

The divisions are expected to center on the trade deficit, which last year hit $232.5 billion, the largest deficit ever recorded with a single country. Critics say China is purposely keeping its currency undervalued against the dollar by as much as 40 percent, and some members of Congress are promoting several bills that would impose penalty tariffs on Chinese products unless China fixes its currency system and stops the rampant piracy of American products.

Meanwhile, China has made a number of moves to try to ease American unhappiness in the past month, including announcing Friday that it would slightly widen the daily trading range for the yuan, which would allow the currency to rise in value more quickly, and that it would purchase $4.3 billion in American high-technology products. Still, several lawmakers are unimpressed by China’s efforts, and last week a bipartisan group of 42 House of Representative members petitioned the Bush administration to bring a trade case against China on the currency issue.