U.S. and Chinese Officials Optimistic About Economic Relations as Commerce Secretary Visits Beijing

By IndraStra Global News Team

Cover Image Attribute: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, right, speaks during a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao, left, at the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing, Aug. 28, 2023. / Source: AP

In an effort to strengthen economic ties and promote cooperation, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo concluded her second-day meeting with Chinese leaders in Beijing. The discussions aimed at fostering a positive economic relationship between the two nations were met with expressions of optimism from both sides.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang conveyed the sentiment that "sound economic relations and trade cooperation will not only be beneficial to our two countries, but to the whole world." Raimondo reciprocated this sentiment, emphasizing the United States' commitment to maintaining its commercial relationship with China and its hope that these ties would contribute to the overall stability of the relationship.
Amid the discussions, Raimondo also underlined global concerns such as climate change and the fentanyl addiction crisis. She stated the United States' intention to collaborate with China "as two global powers to do what is right for all of humanity." Raimondo stressed that the world is anticipating a joint effort to address these challenges.
Earlier on the same day, Raimondo held talks with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, where she reiterated that the United States is not pursuing economic separation from China. "While we will never, of course, compromise in protecting our national security, I want to be clear that we do not seek to decouple or to hold China's economy back," Raimondo affirmed. He Lifeng reciprocated this outlook, expressing China's willingness to embark on "new, positive efforts to keep economic consensus and step up cooperation."
On the preceding day, the United States and China reached an agreement to establish two separate dialogues aimed at reducing misunderstandings surrounding U.S. security concerns that underpin its strict export controls on Chinese technologies – measures Beijing interprets as an attempt to stifle its companies' growth.
Following discussions with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, Raimondo unveiled plans to create a working group comprising business representatives to address commercial matters alongside a governmental information exchange to tackle export control issues. Raimondo emphasized to Wang Wentao that the Biden administration seeks healthy competition with China and believes that a "growing Chinese economy that plays by the rules is in both of our interests."
Wang Wentao echoed these sentiments, expressing China's readiness to collaborate with the United States to "foster a more favorable policy environment for stronger cooperation between our businesses to bolster bilateral trade and investment in a stable and predictable manner." He underscored that U.S.-China economic relations hold significance not just for the two nations but also for the global community.
However, U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the Biden administration's approach, stating, "The Biden administration's decision to join forces with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to establish a working group on export controls and commercial issues with CCP officials is at best naive, but also dangerous." McCaul contended that the CCP's actions, including intellectual property theft and cyber espionage, warrant treating them as an adversary.
Wang Yiwei, director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China, emphasized the need for intensified trade dialogue between the U.S. and China before the upcoming U.S. presidential election. He highlighted that the U.S. restrictions on high-tech exports have inadvertently boosted China's tech autonomy and innovation capabilities, ultimately impacting U.S. high-tech firms' interests.

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