US Commerce Secretary to Visit China in Late August to Deepen Communication

BEIJING, August 22 (TiPost)— Beijing and Washington confirmed a senior official of the Biden administration will pay a visit to China in late August.

Credit：Visual China

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will visit China from August 27 to 30 at the invitation of Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday, without any details about Raimondo’s schedule or Beijing’s meeting arrrangement. A statement of the U.S. Department of Commerce the same day said Raimondo will travel to top two Chinese cities Beijing and Shanghai from August 27 to 30 for meetings with senior Chinese officials and U.S. business leaders. The visit, following U.S. President Joe Biden’s meeting and Chinese President Xi Jinping last November, aims to deepen communication between two countries on a range of issues, according to the statement. It said that Raimondo is seeking constructive discussions on issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses, and areas for potential cooperation.

Raimondo’s visit came days after Biden signed an executive order to imposed new restrictions on American investments in so-called sensitive technologies, citing national security threats. The order asked government agencies to issue regulations to prohibit United States persons from engaging, directly or indirectly, in transactions that are determined by heads of relevant agencies as those posing a particularly acute national security threat, and regulations which could prohibit Americans from knowingly directing prohibited transactions. The Secretary of the Treasury may require, following new regulations, prohibit and prevent any transaction by a foreign entity controlled by United States person who engages in prohibited transaction.

A day prior to announcement of Raimondo’s plan to visit China, her department said it would remove 27 Chinese Parties from the Unverified List, which does not fully ban transactions with the listed parties, but imposes certain restrictions and requirements exports.

The removal has benefited trade between Chinese and American enterprises and is in line with the common interests of both sides, a spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Tuesday. The person said the move also suggested that a solution that will be beneficial to enterprises of both countries is entirely possible as long as both sides adhere to the principles of frank cooperation and mutual benefit. The removal indicates both sides can address specific concerns through communications on the basis of mutual respects, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin commented. Wang said China will continue to firmly defend the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies and institutions.

Some of Raimondo’s efforts for her trip in China is to explain that the existing U.S. export controls are meant to protect U.S. national security, instead of steps to hold China back or disentangle the two large economies, said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Sullivan said U.S. is engaged in intense competition with China, but such competition requires “intense diplomacy to manage that competition so that it doesn’t tip over into conflict.”

Raimondo is poised to be the fourth U.S. government official to visit China this year. Three officials at the Biden cabinet has travelled to China in about a month, but only Secretary of State Antony Blinken got a face-to-face meet with Chinese President.

The brief trip from June 18 to 19 made Secretary of State Antony Blinken the highest ranking American official as well as the top US diplomat to visit China in almost five years. He is also the highest ranking official from the Biden administration to set foot in China since Biden took office in January 2021. In meeting with Blinken, China’s President Xi Jinping stressed that major-country competition does not represent the trend of the times, still less can it solve America’s own problems or the challenges facing the world. He urged the U.S. government to adopt a rational and pragmatic attitude, and work with China in the same direction.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen followed suit and told Chinese Premier Li Qiang the U.S. side does not seek to decouple or sever supply chains, and has no intention of hindering China’s modernization process, in her long-anticipated trip to China from July 6-9. Days after Yellen’s visit came John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. In his meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang later that month, Kerry said the U.S. hopes Sino-U.S. relations maintain stable.

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