US and China must have stable economic bond, says commerce secretary Raimondo

Beijing — US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo opened talks with Chinese government officials on Monday, saying it is “profoundly important” for the world’s two largest economies to have a stable economic relationship.

Raimondo is looking to boost business ties as US firms have reported increasing challenges with operating in China, while China has sharply criticised US efforts to block its access to advanced semiconductors.

Raimondo said the entire world expects the US and China will have a stable economic relationship; the two countries share more than $700bn in annual trade.

“It is a complicated relationship. It is a challenging relationship. We will of course disagree on certain issues,” Raimondo said. “I think we can make progress if we are direct, open and practical.”

Raimondo, who is holding three days of talks with Chinese and business leaders to boost ties, is set to meet commerce minister Wang Wentao for about two hours on Monday.

Wang said US-China economic relations matter not just to the two countries, but also the rest of the world and expressed appreciation of Raimondo's remarks that she likes trade with China.

He said he is ready to work together to “foster a more favourable policy environment for stronger co-operation between our businesses to bolster bilateral trade and investment in a stable and predictable manner”.

Raimondo said the US and China have “worked over the summer to establish new information exchanges and working groups that will enable us to have more consistent engagement in our relationship”.

Some Republicans in Congress have criticised the suggestion that the US would agree to a working group with China on export controls on advanced semiconductor chips.

Raimondo has declared off-limits any discussion of US export curbs aimed at slowing Beijing’s military advances.

“Of course of matters of national security, there is no room to compromise or negotiate,” she said, adding most do not affect national security concerns.

As an example of that, Raimondo will visit a personal care product showcase in China later on Monday.

Reuters