US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and US Ambassador to China Nick Burns (L) during a meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on August 28, 2023 in Beijing (POOL/AFP/Andy Wong)
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in Beijing on Monday and said it was “extremely important” that the United States and China have stable and peaceful trade relations.
The two leading economic powers in the world have been trying for several months to ease bilateral tensions.
Gina Raimondo is thus the fourth senior American politician to visit China this year, a sign of a resumption of high-level dialogue between the two countries.
These visits could facilitate a meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the tenant of the White House having publicly expressed his wish for such a meeting.
Gina Raimondo met Monday morning with Wang Wentao and judged that the economic relations between the two countries were the “most important in the world”.
“We share $700 billion in trade […] it is extremely important that we have stable economic relations,” she told her interlocutor, according to a report from her supervisory ministry.
“It’s a complicated relationship, a difficult relationship,” she said. “We will of course disagree on some issues, but I think we can move forward if we are direct, open and pragmatic.”
– Beauty products –
The two officials exchanged face-to-face around long tables surrounded by their respective delegations, according to images from Chinese public television CCTV. The Chinese and American flags were raised in front of them.
In return, her host Wang Wentao told her of his “tremendous pleasure in starting this dialogue” with her in order to “coordinate in economic and commercial matters”.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo (2nd d) and her Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao (2nd l) during a meeting in Beijing on August 28, 2023 (POOL/AFP/Andy Wong)
Gina Raimondo arrived in Beijing on Sunday evening and was greeted by Lin Feng, director of the Americas and Oceania department of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Monday, she also visited in a hotel in the Chinese capital an exhibition of American beauty products intended for the Chinese market, accompanied by the ambassador of the United States in China, Nicholas Burns.
During her visit to China, which is scheduled to last until Wednesday, she will also visit Shanghai, according to the US Department of Commerce.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated in recent years over a myriad of topics, including trade, technology, US military support for Taiwan, Beijing’s presence in the South China Sea and its relationship with Moscow.
– “No room for maneuver” –
Among the main disagreements are the trade restrictions imposed by the United States on the export of certain American products, in particular high technology, to China.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on July 8, 2023 in Beijing (POOL/AFP/Archives/Mark Schiefelbein)
Washington considers them crucial to preserve its national security. But Beijing believes that they are mainly aimed at curbing its economic growth and development.
During a visit to Beijing last month, Janet Yellen, the US Secretary of State for the Treasury, tried to reassure the Chinese authorities about the multiple American restrictions.
Gina Raimondo told Chinese officials on Monday that there was “no leeway to compromise or negotiate” on US national security.
But she also stressed that “the vast majority of our trade and investment relationship is not about national security issues.”
“We believe that a strong Chinese economy is a good thing,” she also tried to reassure.
US climate envoy John Kerry visited China in July.
As for the head of the American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, he had visited Beijing the previous month, the highest level visit by an American official since 2018.
None of these visits, however, led to major progress.
© 2023 AFP
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