U.S. Commerce Secretary discusses trip to China amid military and economic tensions

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This week, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo became the latest high-ranking U.S. official to visit China and engage with top Chinese leadership. She went during a time of security and trade tensions between the two global giants and China's ongoing economic slowdown. Raimondo joined Nick Schifrin to discuss the visit.

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Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Geoff Bennett:

This week, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo became the latest high-ranking U.S. official to visit China and engage with top Chinese leadership over a four-day visit.

She went during a time of security and trade tensions between the two global giants and China's ongoing economic slowdown.

Nick Schifrin reports.

Nick Schifrin:

Across four days, two cities and a half-dozen meetings, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited China with a message of boosting U.S.-China business.

But Raimondo also visited American businesses and said she raised their concerns that Chinese policies could make China — quote — "uninvestable."

Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce: My point was, U.S. business needs to see some action taken to address these issues. Otherwise, they will deem it as just too risky.

The two sides agreed to formal dialogues, including about American export controls, tourism and trade and investment challenges.

The challenge that China faces is its own economy. Consumer consumption and private sector investment are dropping, as are exports and imports. The real estate market is tanking. The population is shrinking, and youth unemployment is so high, reportedly over 20 percent, Beijing stopped publishing the number.

Raimondo's trip is the fourth Cabinet member to visit China in four months, CIA Director Bill Burns in May, Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July.

Gina Raimondo:

We're going past just generalized commitments to talk. We have opened clear working groups and information exchanges and opportunity to put the toughest issues on the table and try over time to resolve them.

And with me now is Gina Raimondo, secretary of commerce.

Madam Secretary, thank you very much. Welcome to the "NewsHour."

During your visit to China, you warned that American businesses could consider China — quote — "uninvestable" because China's making it harder for them to operate, including raids and fines on consulting firms, travel restrictions, the passage of a counterespionage law.

Did China commit to stop taking any of the steps that you have cited?

They did not.

But, to be clear, I don't — I never would have expected that they would have. To put this in perspective, I'm the first commerce secretary in more than five years to be on the ground in China conducting meetings of this kind.

So I don't think it would be reasonable to expect that, in these first meetings, they would make any kind of commitments or concessions. That being said, I was crystal clear that patience is wearing thin on behalf of us business and that China's recent rhetoric, which has been saying they want more foreign direct investment, has to be backed up by action.

You call it rhetoric.

Recently, the State Council released a plan in China designed to improve the business environment. It includes promises that U.S. businesses have been asking for. But Beijing has made these promises, as you know, in the past. Do you get the sense today that Beijing is interested in any of these reforms?

It's very hard to say.

If I were to take them at their word from the meetings that I had, I would say yes. But, again, putting on a 24-point plan is one thing. Actually backing that up with changes on the ground is another.

Fundamentally, doesn't change Xi Jinping's emphasis on national security over boosting growth mean that American businesses could continue to face a hostile work environment?

Yes, that is certainly a risk.

And, as you say, that does seem to be the way things are going. But it's also true that there are many U.S. companies, even iconic brands, that have been operating in China for decades. And so we hope that they will be able to continue to do that. And we hope that they can look forward to a more predictable, transparent, fair, level playing field in terms of doing business in China.

But, if that is the risk, what U.S. national security benefit is there to continue to advocate for U.S. investment in China?

Well, our economies are deeply intertwined. And decoupling is certainly not in America's interest.

We do about $700 billion of trade with China every year, which underpins hundreds of thousands of jobs in America. So, anything that we can do in trade with China that creates jobs in America or helps U.S. businesses to grow and innovate is a good thing.

So, that, I think, is clearly in our interest. There's also the benefit of people-to-people exchange. When I was in Shanghai, I had the opportunity to visit the Disney park. And, frankly, there's benefit to Chinese kids being exposed to U.S. brands and U.S. culture and U.S. brand names.

There's a certain soft power benefit of that, a certain exchange of culture and people-to-people exchange.

As we highlighted earlier, the Chinese economy is slowing and faces considerable headwinds. You have argued that Chinese economic stability is good for the United States.

But would it in some ways help U.S. national security, for Chinese economic model to be seen by the U.S.' Asian partners and allies as failing?

I don't think so.

We are not rooting in any way for China's economy to fail. People in China deserve to have a prosperous economy. We can compete. We can outcompete. Our workers are the best in the world. And we're ready to do that.

One of the most contentious aspects right now in the relationship with China are U.S. export controls on sensitive technology.

And you in Beijing announced that you would agree to establish a dialogue where — quote — "export control enforcement information is exchanged."

Do you believe that giving China more information about export controls could change their behavior?

I think that, the more transparent we can be about our policy and our rules and regulations. first of all, we have more credibility. Nobody can say that it's done in secret or unfair or not clear, I think. So we want to lean into the transparency.

But, secondly, I think it could increase compliance, if they know exactly what we expect, for example, allowing my team to go into Chinese businesses to do inspections. I think the more they know, it would give them a chance to comply. You could hope and expect increased compliance.

The thing that's very important, it's actually not a dialogue, and that's conscience. This isn't an area to negotiate or to have dialogue. We're not negotiating. We're just explaining what it is that we're doing and explaining our expectations for how they comply.

Did they promise increased compliance?

No. Certainly, there were no promises made.

There are today export bans on semiconductor chips produced with U.S. technology.

But there are exceptions to that ban that allows some of the largest chipmakers in the world from Taiwan, Samsung to make chips inside China. Will you extend that exception?

Case-by-case basis. Everything that we do is to protect America's national security.

You know, even — even in the case of chips, it's important to say that, of the $700 billion in trade, only 1 percent is subject to export control.

But it sounds like you are considering extending the exception that allow these foreign companies to make advanced chips inside China.

What good are export controls that prevent American companies from doing that, if you're going to allow three specific foreign companies to do that?

We would never allow anything to be made in China or done in China that we think would hurt our national security.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, thank you very much.

Thank you, Nick.

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Nick Schifrin is PBS NewsHour’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent. He leads NewsHour’s daily foreign coverage, including multiple trips to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion, and has created weeklong series for the NewsHour from nearly a dozen countries. The PBS NewsHour series “Inside Putin’s Russia” won a 2017 Peabody Award and the National Press Club’s Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence. In 2020 Schifrin received the American Academy of Diplomacy’s Arthur Ross Media Award for Distinguished Reporting and Analysis of Foreign Affairs. He was a member of the NewsHour teams awarded a 2021 Peabody for coverage of COVID-19, and a 2023 duPont Columbia Award for coverage of Afghanistan and Ukraine. Prior to PBS NewsHour, Schifrin was Al Jazeera America's Middle East correspondent. He led the channel’s coverage of the 2014 war in Gaza; reported on the Syrian war from Syria's Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian borders; and covered the annexation of Crimea. He won an Overseas Press Club award for his Gaza coverage and a National Headliners Award for his Ukraine coverage. From 2008-2012, Schifrin served as the ABC News correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 2011 he was one of the first journalists to arrive in Abbottabad, Pakistan, after Osama bin Laden’s death and delivered one of the year’s biggest exclusives: the first video from inside bin Laden’s compound. His reporting helped ABC News win an Edward R. Murrow award for its bin Laden coverage. Schifrin is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a board member of the Overseas Press Club Foundation. He has a Bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and a Master of International Public Policy degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

As the deputy senior producer for foreign affairs and defense at the PBS NewsHour, Dan plays a key role in helping oversee and produce the program’s foreign affairs and defense stories. His pieces have broken new ground on an array of military issues, exposing debates simmering outside the public eye.

Zeba Warsi is a foreign affairs producer, based in Washington DC. She's a Columbia Journalism School graduate with an M.A. in Political journalism.

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How high tensions between China and the U.S. are impacting American companies

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Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is set to become the latest government official to travel to China amid rising tensions between the two countries. The worsening relations are leaving American companies facing an uncertain environment. Pool/Getty Images hide caption

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is set to become the latest government official to travel to China amid rising tensions between the two countries. The worsening relations are leaving American companies facing an uncertain environment.

Tensions between China and the U.S. are running high — and that's leaving American companies having to carefully navigate their approach to a key player in the global economy.

The uncertainty U.S. businesses are facing is getting increased attention this week as Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is set to become the latest senior official to visit Asia's largest economy.

Janet Yellen heads to China, seeking to ease tensions between the two economic powers

Janet Yellen heads to China, seeking to ease tensions between the two economic powers

Raimondo's trip, which is scheduled from Sunday to Wednesday, comes at a tricky moment. On top of the trade tensions with the U.S., China is facing a slowing economy.

Here's a look at how American companies are currently approaching China.

Tensions are having a 'chilling' effect

Even before tensions increased between the two countries, U.S. companies' perceptions of China had already taken a hit.

The Trump administration had imposed a number of tariffs on China. And then China implemented a "zero-COVID" policy that was disorienting and disruptive for global companies. Travel within, and to and from, China was all but impossible, and lockdowns disrupted manufacturing and trade.

Companies like Apple, for example, faced delayed shipments as lockdowns disrupted their operations in China.

commerce secretary trip to china

A resident looks through a hole from inside a locked-down area in Beijing on June 30, 2022. China implemented a "zero-COVID" policy that was disorienting and disruptive for global companies. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images hide caption

A resident looks through a hole from inside a locked-down area in Beijing on June 30, 2022. China implemented a "zero-COVID" policy that was disorienting and disruptive for global companies.

President Xi Jinping ended those restrictions earlier this year, but their legacy continues to loom large, according to Anna Ashton, an expert on U.S.-China relations at Eurasia Group.

"I think that the Chinese government likely underestimated the negative effect that had on foreign businesses' perceptions of the China market," she says.

The emergence of China from the pandemic came as tensions with the U.S. over issues ranging from Taiwan to intellectual property to labor practices have worsened.

They've led to a series of tit-for-tat actions between the two countries.

The U.S. banned the export of certain microchips to China. Then China imposed restrictions on two rare elements used in high-tech manufacturing.

Most recently, President Biden, citing national security concerns, signed an executive order that will make it more difficult for U.S. firms to invest in certain Chinese companies. They'll be prohibited from investing in artificial intelligence and quantum computing — technologies that could be used by the military.

That announcement came a few weeks after China adopted an expanded counterespionage law that leaves some U.S. companies vulnerable — especially those that collect and retain a lot of customer data.

commerce secretary trip to china

Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 19, 2023. Visits by U.S. government officials like China showcase how both countries still need each other despite the worsening trade ties. Leah Millis/POOL/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 19, 2023. Visits by U.S. government officials like China showcase how both countries still need each other despite the worsening trade ties.

Recently, the U.S. consulting firm Bain & Co. was targeted. In a statement to NPR, the company said Chinese officials questioned staff in its offices in Shanghai.

According to Ashton, these actions have been "limited and targeted," but they have a chilling effect on U.S. businesses broadly. Companies worry about the ambiguity of the law, and whether they could be subject to searches and questioning by government officials.

"There's just the uncertainty around what kind of activity might attract the wrong kind of scrutiny, and get you into trouble."

Certain sectors are being impacted more than others

Even before President Biden signed that executive order, U.S. investors steered away from certain parts of China's economy, especially in technology and sectors such as AI and chips that have potential national security implications.

U.S. companies have been trying to ascertain what sectors and products are "safe." But Ashton says there is still a lot of ambiguity.

With visit to China, Blinken clears a diplomatic path, but it's unclear where it goes

With visit to China, Blinken clears a diplomatic path, but it's unclear where it goes

And even traditional investments in China are being reconsidered.

U.S. companies have long based a substantial part of their production in China for everything from iPhones to sneakers.

The COVID-19 pandemic led many companies to reevaluate supply chains, and some of them have sought to move offices and manufacturing facilities elsewhere. Apple has reportedly encouraged companies that manufacture parts for iPhones to shift operations in other countries, including India and Vietnam.

"Companies are rethinking their strategy, determining whether some elements of their business is best conducted outside of China," says Lester Ross, a Beijing-based partner at the law firm Wilmer Hale.

Still, many companies plan, or at least hope, to stay put — given how much they have invested in manufacturing facilities already, and the time it takes to adjust supply chains.

According to a recent survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, 74% of companies said they "are not considering relocating manufacturing or sourcing outside of China."

And that showcases another reality: Despite the toughening rhetoric, the two countries still need each other.

China's economy is raising concerns — and opportunities

American businesses in China are being complicated by the worsening economy in the Asian country, which is facing a myriad of challenges including slowing consumer demand, a troubled property sector and declining exports.

But China's slowing economy also represents an opportunity as the country courts more investments.

In recent months, top U.S. executives have visited China, including Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon traveled to Shanghai earlier this year for a China-focused conference.

commerce secretary trip to china

Tesla CEO Elon Musk gives a plaque to a child as buyers receive new cars during the Tesla China-made Model 3 Delivery Ceremony in Shanghai on Jan. 7, 2020. Companies like Tesla still see China as a key market as well as a production base. STR/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Tesla CEO Elon Musk gives a plaque to a child as buyers receive new cars during the Tesla China-made Model 3 Delivery Ceremony in Shanghai on Jan. 7, 2020. Companies like Tesla still see China as a key market as well as a production base.

And senior government officials are also visiting China despite the tough rhetoric from the two sides.

Raimondo's visit follows recent ones by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Climate Envoy John Kerry and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

According to Wilmer Hale's Ross, these trips are critical.

"It's important for the Chinese authorities to have a direct audience with leading foreign businesspeople, leading foreign investors, and be able to explain to them directly how much China welcomes their further participation and expansion in the Chinese economy," he says.

China is also still an appealing market for the U.S.

China is not only a key global manufacturer, it's also increasingly a key market for American goods.

Gabriela Santos, a global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management who specializes in China, argues the size and potential of the country's middle class can't be ignored. And it is likely to grow larger.

"We could see another 300 million people join the middle class over the next decade," she says.

According to Santos, there's been a seismic shift.

"It's no longer this idea of 'Made in China' for the rest of the world," she says. "It's 'Made in China' for China."

U.S. companies, including Procter & Gamble, Disney, and Starbucks, say they see an opportunity to sell more products to Chinese consumers.

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U.S. Commerce Secretary Faces a Wide Range of Issues in China

From tourism to advanced technology, here are the topics that are dominating the secretary’s visit to China this week.

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Gina Raimondo stands in the center of a group of people and greets a woman whose back is to the camera. President Joe Biden is on her side.

By Ana Swanson ,  Alan Rappeport and Keith Bradsher

Ana Swanson and Alan Rappeport reported from Washington and Keith Bradsher from Beijing

Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, began meeting Chinese officials on Monday as the latest Biden administration emissary seeking to stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies. In working toward that goal, she has a lot of ground to cover.

During meetings with government officials and business leaders in Beijing and Shanghai this week, Ms. Raimondo is expected to tackle a range of challenging issues in the U.S.-China relationship, from explaining the controls the United States is rolling out on China’s access to advanced chips and other technology, to promoting ties in less sensitive areas.

Ms. Raimondo is likely to announce the creation of groups with China to discuss technology and business issues, and to cap her visit with a trip to Shanghai Disneyland to highlight the potential for more tourism between the countries, according to people familiar with the plans.

In a meeting with China’s minister of commerce in Beijing on Monday morning, Ms. Raimondo said that it was “profoundly important” for the two countries to manage their differences.

“It’s a challenging relationship, we will of course disagree on certain issues, but I believe we can make progress if we are direct, open and practical,” Ms. Raimondo said.

The meetings are coming at a critical juncture, where relations between the countries are strained and China’s economy appears to be slowing. Here’s a look at the issues that are expected to dominate the trip.

U.S.-China tech war

One major topic for both sides will be the mounting restrictions on trade in advanced technology between the countries, particularly those imposed by the United States. Ms. Raimondo’s department oversees the export controls that the Biden administration put in place on China’s access to advanced chips last October, which have angered Chinese officials and prompted retaliation.

Chinese officials are also upset about the Biden administration’s proposal earlier this month to bar private equity and venture capital firms from making investments in China in quantum computing and advanced semiconductors, as well as a new bipartisan law aimed at strengthening the U.S. semiconductor industry, which bars companies that accept federal money from making new, high-tech investments in China.

China has had its own, much broader limits since 2016 on most overseas investments by Chinese companies and households. Chinese officials also recently scuttled a planned merger between Intel and an Israeli chip-maker, and banned some sales by the U.S. chip-maker Micron, which Micron has estimated could cost the company roughly an eighth of its global revenue. The moves against Micron and Intel were seen by some China experts as retaliation for the Biden administration’s tougher treatment of China’s tech sector.

In an effort to prevent an economically damaging tit-for-tat, Ms. Raimondo is expected to argue that the U.S. trade restrictions are aimed at protecting domestic security, not holding China’s economy back.

The two sides are also expected to announce the creation of a new working group during the visit to exchange more information about the controls. Some Republicans have pushed back on the idea of such a group, arguing in a letter to Ms. Raimondo that it would give China a way to influence the measures.

In a briefing with reporters ahead of the trip, Ms. Raimondo said that enforcement of these rules is “not up for debate.” But communication with the Chinese government about the policies can help avoid misunderstanding and unnecessary escalation, she said.

A deteriorating business environment for foreign firms

Ms. Raimondo is also expected to air complaints from Western companies about the increasing difficulty of doing business in China. That likely includes raising concerns about China’s treatment of Micron, and passing on complaints from other Western executives who say they are increasingly worried about China’s expansive national security laws.

In March, the Chinese authorities detained five Chinese nationals working in Beijing for the Mintz Group, an American consulting company, and in April, the authorities questioned employees in the Shanghai office of Bain & Company, the U.S. management consulting firm. The Chinese government imposed a $1.5 million fine last month on Mintz for doing unapproved statistical work.

International executives now regularly express worries about carrying out routine business activities in China, like performing due diligence on acquisition targets or transferring data between subsidiaries. American multinationals have begun preparing contingency plans in case their employees are detained in China, and have sent back very few of the expatriates who had evacuated the country during the pandemic.

“People are scared to go to China,” said Susan Shirk, a research professor at the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego, and the author of “Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise.”

“This worry about physical security is really putting a damper on interactions at the commercial as well as the academic level,” she added.

Promoting commercial ties in other areas

Despite a chillier atmosphere, Ms. Raimondo and other officials insist that there is still plenty of potential for trade between the world’s two largest economies. China remains America’s third-largest export market, buying more than $150 billion of products from U.S. farms and businesses.

Speaking before the trip, Ms. Raimondo noted that U.S. export controls affect only 1 percent of bilateral trade between the countries. Exports to China support more than 80,000 jobs in the United States, and benefit small as well as large firms, she said. The United States also continues to import hundreds of billions of dollars of products from China each year.

Ms. Raimondo is likely to reiterate that message as she meets business leaders in Beijing and Shanghai. Her visit will include meetings with American purveyors of personal care products who are exporting to China, and a trip to Shanghai Disneyland, where she is likely to tout a recent U.S. move to restore group travel from China to the United States.

“Like you, I’m a former governor, I’m a practical leader,” she told the Chinese commerce minister in her meeting Monday. “I’m here in the spirit of being practical and finding concrete ways to work together with you.”

Government communication

A more basic, but still fundamental, component of the trip is promoting communication between the United States and China. Those channels badly atrophied following the fallout over a Chinese surveillance balloon that flew across the United States early this year.

Speaking before the trip, Ms. Raimondo said she had spoken to President Biden on Thursday, and that he had asked her to carry a message to Chinese leaders that “we need to communicate to avoid conflict.”

This will be the first trip to China by a U.S. commerce secretary in seven years.

She is expected to meet several members of a new economic team that has taken office since the Communist Party held its once-in-five-years national congress last autumn.

Economic slowdown and transparency

Looming over the visit are concerns about China’s recent economic slowdown, and how that could influence the global economy and bilateral relations going forward.

Economists and observers have expressed concern over a decision by the Chinese Bureau of National Statistics this month to stop publishing monthly unemployment information “for youth and other age groups,” which recently reached a record high.

The agency said that it needed to optimize its surveys. But the decision, together with the suspension of tens of thousands of other data series in recent years, led to suggestions that China was trying to hide negative economic data.

Jake Sullivan, the White House’s national security adviser, said that Ms. Raimondo was expected to discuss China’s economic data during her trip.

“We think, for global confidence, predictability and the capacity of the rest of the world to make sound economic decisions, it’s important for China to maintain a level of transparency in the publication of its data as well,” he said.

Ana Swanson is based in the Washington bureau and covers trade and international economics for The Times. She previously worked at The Washington Post, where she wrote about trade, the Federal Reserve and the economy. More about Ana Swanson

Alan Rappeport is an economic policy reporter, based in Washington. He covers the Treasury Department and writes about taxes, trade and fiscal matters. He previously worked for The Financial Times and The Economist. More about Alan Rappeport

Keith Bradsher is the Beijing bureau chief for The Times. He previously served as bureau chief in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Detroit and as a Washington correspondent. He has lived and reported in mainland China through the pandemic. More about Keith Bradsher

US commerce secretary meets China envoy before trip to stabilise ties

Gina Raimondo’s August 27-30 trip is latest effort by the Biden administration to cool US-China tensions.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has held “productive” talks with Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng in advance of a China trip aimed at cooling tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

Raimondo is due to visit Beijing and Shanghai next week for talks on economic issues, including “challenges faced by US businesses” and areas for cooperation, the Department of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday.

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The August 27-30 visit comes as Washington is seeking to stabilise US-China relations, which have soured amid disputes over a host of issues, including national security, the war in Ukraine, trade and the status of Taiwan.

In a statement released by the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, Xie said Beijing’s policy is based on “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation”.

“Today’s world is chaotic and intertwined, the global economic recovery is weak, and multiple crises are emerging one after another,” Xie was quoted as saying.

Raimondo’s trip comes after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at the G20 summit in Bali last year to “deepen communication” between their countries after years of plummeting ties.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen , Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and climate envoy John Kerry have all made visits to China in recent weeks in an effort to shore up relations between the sides.

Washington has slapped a host of restrictions on Chinese trade and industry over alleged national security concerns, which Beijing argues are a pretext to thwart the country’s economic rise.

In the latest measures aimed at the Chinese economy, Biden earlier this month signed an executive order restricting US firms from investing in certain areas of China’s tech sector, including advanced computer chips and artificial intelligence.

Beijing condemned the curbs as being “anti-globalisation” and has promised to take necessary countermeasures in response.

On Tuesday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan dismissed accusations that the Biden administration sought to stifle China’s economic growth and said Washington aims to “de-risk”.

“A stable Chinese economy is a good thing for the world,” Sullivan said.

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U.S. commerce chief begins China trip with focus on chips, AI

Raimondo to seek open channel for dialogue through tech tensions

WASHINGTON/BEIJING -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Sunday begins a trip to China, where she will seek dialogue on high-tech fields like semiconductors and artificial intelligence where the two nations are clashing.

Raimondo will meet with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on her visit, which will last until Wednesday and include stops in Beijing and Shanghai. She may also meet with high-ranking Chinese officials for economic policy.

Biden bans some U.S. tech investments in mainland China, Hong Kong

Xi's missed speech at brics event sparks speculation, u.s. big tech won't shake its china addiction, china's grip on southeast asia tightens as u.s. influence wanes, xi's apparatchiks will struggle to revive economy: china watcher, xi's recall of 'wolf warrior' wang yi lays ground for u.s. summit, china can avoid 'japanification' with prompt action, xi jinping is cheering for trump to win, latest on us-china tensions, u.s. republicans push anti-china bill, but passage unlikely in election year, eyeing china, biden limits personal data transfers to u.s. rivals, u.s. export curbs on china won't extend to legacy chips: official, sponsored content, about sponsored content this content was commissioned by nikkei's global business bureau..

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US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (second from left) shakes hands with Director General Lin Feng of the American and Oceania Affairs Department of China's Ministry of Commerce as she arrives at the Beijing Capital International Airport on August 27, 2023. Photo: VCG

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (second from left) shakes hands with Director General Lin Feng of the American and Oceania Affairs Department of China's Ministry of Commerce as she arrives at the Beijing Capital International Airport on August 27, 2023. Photo: VCG

commerce secretary trip to china

Trade between the world’s top two economies slid further in July, latest Chinese customs data showed. The US’ ...

commerce secretary trip to china

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U.S. Commerce secretary says she 'didn't pull any punches' during recent visit to China

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  • U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with officials in China this week.
  • Raimondo is the fourth high-level U.S. official to visit China this summer, and she said the visit helped establish open lines of communication.
  • Raimondo said she addressed concerns regarding national security, U.S. labor and U.S. business.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met with Chinese officials in a high-stakes visit to Beijing and Shanghai this week, and she said Sunday that the trip helped establish open lines of communication between the two nations.

Raimondo is the fourth high-level U.S. official to visit China this summer, but she is the first U.S. Commerce secretary to travel to the country in five years — a period where the bilateral relationship has grown increasingly tense.

"We are in a fierce competition with China at every level, and anyone who tells you differently is naive," Raimondo told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday. "All of that being said, we need to manage this competition. Conflict is in no one's interest."

Raimondo said that a lack of communication between the U.S. and China could further escalate tensions and lead to misunderstandings, so structured discussions are key for addressing commercial issues that arise.

The Commerce secretary's trip to China followed recent visits from U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry , U.S. Treasury Secretary  Janet Yellen  and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken . But Raimondo's visit was called into question after Chinese hackers breached her emails earlier this summer.

"They did hack me, which was unappreciated, to say the least. I brought it up clearly, put it right on the table," she said Sunday. "Didn't pull any punches."

Raimondo also brought up concerns regarding national security, U.S. labor and U.S. business, she said.

In the fall of 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security announced new  export controls  that limited the ability of Chinese businesses to buy certain advanced semiconductors from American suppliers.

Raimondo said Sunday that the export controls are about national security, not about gaining an economic advantage. She added that the U.S. will remain as hard-line as possible with its most advanced technology.

"We are not going to sell the most sophisticated American chips to China that they want for their military capacity," Raimondo said. "But I do want to be clear, we will also still continue to sell billions of dollars of chips a year to China, because the vast majority of chips that are made are not the leading edge, cutting edge that I'm talking about."

She said though the export controls reflect a nuanced and complex policy, selling certain chips to China will ultimately generate revenue for American businesses to invest in further research and development.

comscore

‘Entire world’ needs U.S. and China to manage relationship ‘responsibly,’ commerce secretary Raimondo says ahead of Beijing trip

commerce secretary trip to china

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is the latest member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet to visit China as his administration tries to mend the deteriorating ties between the world’s two largest economies. She promises to be “practical” without compromising the U.S. push to “responsibly” manage that economic relationship.

Raimondo plans meetings with Chinese officials and U.S. business leaders in  Beijing and Shanghai  in an effort to “promote a healthy competition, a competition on a level playing field, playing by the rules.”

“I’m also very realistic and clear-eyed about the challenges. And the challenges are significant,” she told reporters before leaving Washington on Saturday on a trip that ends Wednesday.

The secretary said she wants to find “actionable, concrete steps where we can move forward on the commercial relationship,” but she offered few details. One matter to be discussed is promoting  Chinese travel and tourism  to the United States, with Raimondo noting the recent easing of restrictions on large Chinese groups visiting the U.S.

Raimondo’s visit, like the July trip by  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen,  is meant to show the administration’s willingness to partner with China on economic development at a time of escalating tensions on foreign policy and national security and as Washington bolsters alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia and the European Union.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a  two-day stop in Beijing  in June, the highest-level meetings in China in the past five years. Blinken met with President Xi Jinping and the two agreed to stabilize U.S.-China ties, but better communications between their militaries could not be agreed upon.

There are divisions around the economy, too, particularly after the imposition of U.S.  foreign investment  controls that have stung numerous Chinese companies. China has accused the U.S. of “using the cover of ‘risk reduction’ to carry out ‘decoupling and chain-breaking,’” and has increased its own trade in Asia.

The controls pertain to advanced computer chips, microelectronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence. The U.S. says the effort stemmed from national security goals rather than economic interests, and that the categories covered were intentionally narrow.

The U.S. moves are meant to blunt China’s ability to use American investments in its technology companies to upgrade its military, while preserving broader levels of trade that are vital to both nations. But China’s Ministry of Commerce said it has “serious concern” about  Biden’s executive order .

Raimondo said the U.S. was not interested in “containing China’s economic development.”

“We want the Chinese economy to prosper. We do not want to contain or hold back China,” she said. “We do need to protect our national security, and we’re going to use our export controls to the fullest extent possible to do that.”

She said attempts to boost the U.S. economy by promoting manufacturing, a centerpiece of  Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign , “does not mean, at all, that we want to decouple from China’s economy. And I plan to make that very clear in my meetings.”

“The U.S. and China share a large, dynamic, growing economic relationship,” Raimondo said. “And both of our countries — in fact, the entire world — need us to manage that relationship responsibly.”

Raimondo added that she is seeking “to have a stable commercial relationship, and the core to that is regular communication.”

“It’s hard to solve problems in any relationship if you don’t communicate. And lack of communication results in rising tensions and a spiral to a bad place,” Raimondo said.

China’s Ministry of Commerce has said Raimondo’s visit came at the invitation of Minister Wang Wentao. China Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Friday news conference, when asked about Raimondo’s travels, that “China and the US are in touch about bilateral engagement and exchange.”

Biden said at a recent fundraiser in Utah for his reelection campaign that China was a “ticking time bomb.”

“They have got some problems. That’s not good because when bad folks have problems, they do bad things,” the president said, pointing to China’s recent  declines in growth rates .

Raimondo said she spoke with Biden before leaving for China and that he asked her to convey the message that there’s “benefit to communicating to reduce tensions.”

“That does not mean compromise,” said Raimondo, who added: “I’m not going to pull my punches, but I intend to be practical.”

The commerce secretary said she spoke before her trip with top U.S. labor leaders and more than 100 industry executives who are anxious to do business with China but were “increasingly concerned” by the country’s nonmarket practices, which makes competing for global business difficult.

“We all know that China has not followed through on the economic reforms that it has promised,” Raimondo said. “And it’s clearly continuously committed to using non-market trade and investment practices, and that forces us to defend our businesses and workers.”

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Bloomberg

US Commerce Secretary Raimondo Will Visit China Next Week

(Bloomberg) -- US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to China next week, making her the fourth cabinet-level official to visit since June as the US seeks to sustain high-level contacts despite strains over Taiwan and US plans to limit some exports.

Raimondo will meet with senior Chinese officials and American business leaders in Beijing and Shanghai to discuss “issues relating to the US-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by US businesses and areas for potential cooperation,” the Commerce Department said in a press release. 

The trip, from Aug. 27 to Aug. 30, comes at a sensitive moment in the Washington-Beijing relationship. 

Earlier in August, President Joe Biden issued new investment curbs , exacerbating tensions that were already fraught over issues including Taiwan, human rights abuses in Xinjiang, intellectual property threats, and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that the US shot down in February. 

Those flareups have created a difficult backdrop for other Biden administration officials during their trips to China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and climate envoy John Kerry have each returned with a commitment to further dialogue but nothing more definite.

It’s unclear what Raimondo will deliver for US businesses, but people familiar with the matter have said she’d been hesitant to make the trip without knowing that it will produce positive outcomes for American firms. 

Read More: US Lifts Restrictions on Some China Firms Ahead of Raimondo Trip  

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday said he did not expect “a big outcome that’s fundamentally transformative.”

“We’re not sending cabinet officials to China to change China, nor do we expect these conversations to change the United States. Rather, we each have the opportunity, through this high-level engagement, to ensure that there is a basic stable foundation in the relationship, even as we compete intensively in a number of domains,” Sullivan told reporters.

He also expressed concern about China’s “reduction in the level of transparency and openness with respect to reporting basic things like, for example, the youth unemployment numbers.”

“These are not in our view responsible steps,” Sullivan added. “We believe in openness and transparency and reporting.” 

Read More: China Halts Youth Jobs Data, Stoking Transparency Concerns

One potential consequence of the visit could be a working group with China’s commerce ministry that would discuss export controls as well as Chinese companies that have been added to a Commerce Department export blacklist. 

Yet that idea has sparked harsh criticism from Republicans in Congress, who wrote to Raimondo last week urging her not to allow the Chinese to weigh in on the investment curbs. Those curbs include the recent order from Biden limiting US investments in some Chinese semiconductor, quantum computing and artificial intelligence companies, which built on a set of controls announced last October. 

Read More: Lawmakers Urge Against Export Controls Working Group With China

A Commerce representative declined to comment on the potential working group and Republicans’ criticism. 

Raimondo will also seek to promote US business interests in China, with a top issue being Boeing Co.’s stalled delivery of its 737 Max planes to Chinese airlines. China banned delivery following two deadly Max crashes in 2019. 

--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs and Jenny Leonard.

(Updates with Sullivan comment, in eighth paragraph.)

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Citing national security concerns, biden-harris administration announces inquiry into connected vehicles , office of public affairs.

U.S. Department of Commerce Begins Regulatory Process to Consider National Security Risks Posed by ICTS Integral to Connected Vehicles  

The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Seeks Information Regarding the Security of Connected Vehicles with PRC Technology in the U.S.  

Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking public comment to inform the potential development of regulations to secure and safeguard the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) supply chain for connected vehicles (CVs).  

“It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think of how foreign government with access to connected vehicles could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the personal privacy of U.S. citizens,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “To assess these national security concerns, we are issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to investigate the national security risks of connected vehicles, specifically PRC-manufactured technology in the vehicles. We need to understand the extent of the technology in these cars that can capture wide swaths of data or remotely disable or manipulate connected vehicles, so we are soliciting information to determine whether to take action under our ICTS authorities.” 

“While we benefit greatly from the shift to a more digital and connected world, those connections create new avenues for espionage and sabotage. We must remain vigilant in identifying and securing those vulnerabilities, including potential vulnerabilities present in connected vehicles,” said Under Secretary for Industry and Security Alan Estevez . “Today’s action demonstrates that we are taking thoughtful, deliberative, proactive steps to address concerns that connected vehicles may present for U.S. national security.”  

The ANPRM explains how the incorporation of foreign adversary ICTS in CVs can create risks, for example, by offering a direct entry point to sensitive U.S. technology and data or by bypassing measures intended to protect U.S. persons’ safety and security. In such cases, ICTS provided by persons or entities owned, controlled, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary may pose undue risks to critical infrastructure in the United States and unacceptable risks to national security. The People’s Republic of China presents a particularly acute and persistent threat to the U.S. ICTS supply chain related to CVs.  

This ANPRM demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration’s proactive efforts to address the potential national security risks associated with the ICTS integral to CVs and is a significant step in advancing the ICTS mission.  

In this ANPRM, the Department seeks feedback on a number of issues, including: definitions;, how potential classes of ICTS transactions integral to CVs may present undue or unacceptable risks to U.S. national security; implementation mechanisms to address these risks through potential prohibitions or, where feasible, mitigation measures; and whether to create a process for the public to request approval to engage in an otherwise prohibited transaction by demonstrating that the risk to U.S. national security is sufficiently mitigated in the context of a particular transaction. 

About the Office of Information and Communications Technology and Services (OICTS):   

Today’s ANPRM is being issued pursuant to the authorities established under Executive Order (EO) 13873, “Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain” (May 15, 2019). EO 13873 delegates to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) authority to prohibit or impose mitigation measures on any ICTS transaction subject to United States jurisdiction that poses undue or unacceptable risks to U.S. national security or to U.S. persons. The ICTS program became a mission of BIS in 2022. OICTS is charged with implementing a series of EOs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) focused on protecting domestic information and communications systems from threats posed by foreign adversaries.   

For more information, visit www.bis.doc.gov .

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The White House Warns Cars Made in China Could Unleash Chaos on US Highways

A silver BYD vehicle displayed on a stage with large LED screens behind it

The US government has launched an investigation into the national security risks posed by foreign-made vehicles with internet connectivity—especially those made in China . At a briefing on Wednesday, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo even raised the specter of Beijing remotely triggering mayhem on US highways.

“Imagine if there were thousands or hundreds of thousands of Chinese connected vehicles on American roads that could be immediately and simultaneously disabled by somebody in Beijing,” Raimondo said.

The new US government fears about Chinese autos come as automakers such as BYD and Geely have become major global players in car manufacturing—and particularly electric vehicles . They also build on evidence that as cars have become increasingly computerized , and connected to the internet, vehicles have become vulnerable to new security threats. Hackers have shown it is possible to disable internet-connected vehicles from afar . Automated driving systems and internet connectivity have added cameras and other sensors to vehicles, and can also make them mobile repositories of personal information .

Raimondo said that the Bureau of Industry and Security, a division of the Commerce Department that handles national security issues related to advanced technology, would explore how sensor-laden, internet-connected vehicles could be used to commit espionage, collect data on US citizens, or commit sabotage on US roads.

The alarm sounded about Chinese autos adds to a recent history of US government concern about China’s technology ambitions under President Joe Biden and under President Trump before him. Trump imposed sanctions on Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei and other 5G companies working on 5G wireless technology and targeted Chinese AI firms with similar controls. The Biden administration has aggressively restricted the flow of advanced chips into China. Concerns over sensitive US data passing back to China has led to a TikTok ban for most federal government devices.

The move comes as US automakers miss targets for EV sales , and as Chinese automakers such as BYD tout record global sales and build new factories. Many Chinese manufacturers are producing cars, and particularly EVs, more efficiently and profitably than their US counterparts, with billions in assistance from the central government.

In January, BYD overtook Tesla as the world’s leading manufacturer of EVs, according to figures released by the two companies. Last year, China became the world’s biggest car exporter .

“China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices,” reads a statement from Biden released by the White House. “China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.”

China’s automakers are expected to soon begin a direct assault on the US market. Recent news reports suggest that Chinese automakers including BYD, MG, and Chery plan to manufacture their lower-cost electric vehicles in Mexico, enabling them to take advantage of North American trade treaties and evade US tariffs of 27.5 percent on imported Chinese autos.

The Alliance for American Manufacturing, a trade group, earlier this month called China a “significant” threat to US car manufacturers. It urged US policymakers to “adopt a proactive and evolving strategy to stymie the CCP’s penetration.”

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Speaking at the briefing Wednesday, Lael Brainard, national economic adviser to the White House, described US automakers being on a competitive playing field that appears to be rapidly tilting in favor of Chinese automakers. “For years China has employed an array of subsidies and protections to build massive capacity in EV production,” Brainard said. “Chinese automakers are now flooding foreign markets with their autos.”

The security risks posed by vehicles have grown as they’ve become more computerized, more sensor-filled, and more connected. Anne Neuberger, the Biden administration’s deputy national security adviser for cyber, recently told WIRED that the US is working with allies to develop standards for autonomous vehicles that would address the risks they pose. Neurberger said the administration is concerned about Chinese autonomous vehicles that have been approved for testing on US roads.

Administration officials say that the investigation would extend to Chinese-made components and other technologies. This could include the lidar systems that use lasers to map roads and spot obstacles, a market in which Chinese companies are major players.

Officials note that China has imposed restrictions on connected vehicles from US companies. Tesla cars are reportedly restricted from driving in military- and government-affiliated areas, including meeting halls and exhibition centers, for instance.

The move will risk ratcheting up tension between the US and China. If the action leads to trade restrictions, it could be met with counter restrictions from Beijing. “We'll have to wait to see what China's retaliation might be,” a senior administration official said.

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White House to investigate national security risks posed by Chinese-made ‘smart cars’

WASHINGTON — Citing potential national security risks, the Biden administration says it will  investigate Chinese-made “smart cars”  that can  gather sensitive information  about Americans driving them.

The probe could lead to new regulations aimed at preventing  China  from using sophisticated technology in electric cars and other so-called connected vehicles to track drivers and their personal information. Officials are concerned that features such as driver assistance technology could be used to effectively spy on Americans.

While the action stops short of a ban on Chinese imports, President  Joe Biden  said he is taking unprecedented steps to safeguard Americans’ data.

“China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices,'' Biden said in a statement Thursday. “China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.''

Biden and other officials noted that China has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on American autos and other foreign vehicles.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said connected cars “are like smart phones on wheels” and pose a serious national security risk.

“These vehicles are connected to the internet. They collect huge amounts of sensitive data on the drivers — personal information, biometric information, where the car goes,'' she told reporters late Wednesday. “So it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to figure out how a foreign adversary like China, with access to this sort of information at scale, could pose a serious risk to our national security and the privacy of U.S. citizens.''

Data collection is not the only concern, she and other officials said. Connected vehicles could also be remotely enabled or manipulated by bad actors.

“Imagine if there were thousands or hundreds of thousands of Chinese-connected vehicles on American roads that could be immediately and simultaneously disabled by somebody in Beijing,'' Raimondo said. “So it’s scary to contemplate the cyber risks, espionage risks that these pose.''

Few Chinese cars are currently imported to the United States, in part because of steep tariffs the U.S. imposes on vehicles imported from China. Still, officials are concerned tariffs are not sufficient to address the problem. Some Chinese companies seek to avoid U.S. tariffs by setting up assembly plants in nearby countries such as Mexico.

Under a plan announced Thursday, the Commerce Department is issuing an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that will launch an investigation into national security risks posed by “connected vehicles” from China and other countries considered hostile to the United States.

Commerce will seek information from the auto industry and the public on the nature of the risks and potential steps to mitigate them, the White House said. Officials will then develop potential regulations to govern the use of technology in vehicles from China and other "countries of concern,'' including Russia and Iran.

“We’re doing it now, before Chinese manufactured vehicles become widespread in the United States and potentially threaten our privacy and our national security,'' Raimondo said.

The investigation is the first action taken by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security under executive orders Biden issued to protect domestic information and communications technology from national security threats.

Electric vehicles and other cars increasingly rely on advanced technologies to enable navigational tools, provide driver-assist features and reduce operating costs and carbon emissions through fast charging, the White House said. The cars are constantly connecting with personal devices, other cars, U.S. infrastructure and their original manufacturer, posing national security risks, the White House said.

New vulnerabilities and threats “could arise with connected autos if a foreign government gained access to these vehicles’ systems or data,'' the White House said.

High tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and continued by Biden have effectively deterred Chinese automakers from entering the U.S. market, but U.S. officials and industry leaders worry that Chinese companies might choose to absorb the additional costs as China leans more heavily on exports. Chinese car makers are looking to build more vehicles overseas, with EV giant BYD announcing plans last year for its  first European plant.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said his company and others will have trouble competing on EVs with Chinese automakers, who have gone from no EV market share in Europe two years ago to about 10% now.

John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major automakers, said proposed U.S. environmental regulations could let China gain “a stronger foothold in America’s electric vehicle battery supply chain and eventually our automotive market.”

The European Union, concerned about  rising imports from China,  opened a trade investigation last year into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles. The investigation is ongoing.

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  1. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to Travel to the People's

    U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will travel to Beijing and Shanghai, the People's Republic of China (PRC), from August 27-30 for meetings with senior PRC officials and U.S. business leaders. Secretary Raimondo's travel follows President Biden's meeting with President Xi last November to deepen communication between the U.S. and the PRC on a range of issues.

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  3. US Commerce chief seeks trade, tourism boost in China talks

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  4. U.S. Commerce Secretary discusses trip to China amid military and ...

    Geoff Bennett: This week, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo became the latest high-ranking U.S. official to visit China and engage with top Chinese leadership over a four-day visit. She went during ...

  5. How high U.S.-China tensions are impacting American companies

    Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is set to travel to China at a time when U.S. executives and investors are facing increasing uncertainty and risk doing business there.

  6. The U.S. and China Are Talking Again. Where It Will Lead Is Unclear

    When Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary, visited China this week, she joined a long line of U.S. politicians who have come to the country to try to sway Chinese officials to open their market ...

  7. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to Visit China Next Week

    Aug. 22, 2023. Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, will travel to Beijing and Shanghai for a series of meetings next week, becoming the latest Biden official to visit China as the United ...

  8. US commerce secretary will visit China next week at a critical ...

    US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China next week at a critical time for the world's second-largest economy — and for the Biden administration's relationship with the country ...

  9. US commerce secretary to visit China next week for talks

    U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to China next week for meetings with senior Chinese government officials and U.S. business leaders, the department said on Tuesday, marking the ...

  10. U.S. Commerce Secretary Faces a Wide Range of Issues in China

    A version of this article appears in print on , Section B, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: On Trip to China, U.S. Commerce Secretary Has a Varied Agenda.

  11. US Commerce Secretary Raimondo offers China more dialogue at ...

    US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Monday she and her counterpart, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, had agreed on steps to improve communication between the world's top two economies ...

  12. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to Visit China

    Illustration: Annie Zhao. WASHINGTON—Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is heading to China this weekend bearing a portfolio of difficult economic issues while pushing forward an effort by both ...

  13. US commerce secretary in 'productive' talks with China envoy before trip

    U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo met Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng on Tuesday and had a "productive discussion" ahead of her trip to China, the U.S. Commerce Department said in a statement.

  14. US commerce secretary meets China envoy before trip to stabilise ties

    US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has held "productive" talks with Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng in advance of a China trip aimed at cooling tensions between the world's two largest economies.

  15. U.S. Commerce secretary set to visit China as high-level talks ...

    U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks during a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 16, 2023. BEIJING — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is set to visit China from Aug. 27 ...

  16. U.S. commerce chief begins China trip with focus on chips, AI

    RINTARO TOBITA and IORI KAWATE, Nikkei staff writers August 27, 2023 06:25 JST. WASHINGTON/BEIJING -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Sunday begins a trip to China, where she will seek ...

  17. US commerce chief embarks on China visit; high-level contacts expected

    US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo arrived in Beijing on Sunday night, kicking off a four-day tour that is widely anticipated to ease fraught relationship between the US and China, the world's ...

  18. U.S. Commerce secretary says she 'didn't pull any punches ...

    U.S. Commerce secretary says she 'didn't pull any punches' during recent visit to China Published Sun, Sep 3 2023 11:24 AM EDT Updated Tue, Sep 5 2023 9:12 AM EDT Ashley Capoot @in/ashley-capoot ...

  19. 'Entire world' needs U.S. and China to manage ...

    The commerce secretary said she spoke before her trip with top U.S. labor leaders and more than 100 industry executives who are anxious to do business with China but were "increasingly concerned ...

  20. Statement from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo on Chinese

    Today, U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo issued the following statement on the announcement that China will lift restrictions on group travel to the United States, in addition to other nations. The announcement is the result of continued engagement between U.S. Commerce officials and Chinese government representatives.

  21. US Commerce Secretary Raimondo Will Visit China Next Week

    US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to China next week, making her the fourth cabinet-level official to visit since June as the US seeks to sustain high-level contacts despite strains ...

  22. Citing National Security Concerns, Biden-Harris ...

    The People's Republic of China presents a particularly acute and persistent threat to the U.S. ICTS supply chain related to CVs. ... 2019). EO 13873 delegates to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) authority to prohibit or impose mitigation measures on any ICTS transaction subject to United States jurisdiction that poses undue or ...

  23. The White House Warns Cars Made in China Could Unleash Chaos on US

    The Alliance for American Manufacturing, a trade group, earlier this month called China a "significant" threat to US car manufacturers. It urged US policymakers to "adopt a proactive and ...

  24. The US needs a stable Chinese economy. Will Biden's commerce secretary

    Hong Kong CNN —. US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to China next week, a visit that coincides with a worsening slowdown in the world's second largest economy . While China's ...

  25. US Commerce secretary still plans China trip despite hacking

    WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Friday she still plans to visit China later this year despite the reported Chinese hacking of her department's emails.

  26. Biden orders investigation into Chinese-made 'smart cars', spying

    Biden and other officials noted that China has imposed wide-ranging restrictions on American autos and other foreign vehicles. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said connected cars "are like ...

  27. US panel urges State Department to raise travel advisory for Xinjiang

    A visitor poses with an exhibit at a museum in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, on February 14. A US panel on China has asked the State Department to raise the risk level ...

  28. US Chamber of Commerce cites 'Made in China 2025' concerns after

    The United States Chamber of Commerce has voiced apprehensions about potential overcapacity in a variety of Chinese industries linked to the nation's ambitious "Made in China 2025" plan ...

  29. Raimondo would 'consider' banning Chinese companies if ...

    02/29/2024 03:01 PM EST. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is open to banning any Chinese company that accesses U.S. data from doing business in America, she told POLITICO in a Thursday interview ...

  30. China Vice President Urges US Firms to Find New Areas to Team Up

    2:35. China's vice president urged businesses from the world's two largest economies to boost cooperation and safeguard global supply chains, as Beijing and Washington try to work through ...