Hong Kong
CNN
—
The United States is not seeking to decouple from or slow down the Chinese economy, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told senior Chinese business leaders in Beijing on Tuesday.
“The US-China trade relationship is one of the most consequential on a global scale, and stewardship of that relationship is critical to both our nations and indeed the world at large,” Raimondo told a group of officials, including the vice premier He Lifeng, during their second meeting day of meetings in the country.
“And while we will of course never compromise on protecting our national security, I want to make it clear that we are not trying to decouple or slow down China’s economy,” she said.
Hours later, when meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Raimondo stressed the point.
“President Biden has asked me to come here to convey the message that we are not seeking decoupling,” she told Li. “We are committed to maintaining our $700 billion trade relationship with China.”
The Chinese premier said he hopes the two countries could strengthen communications and maintain the health of US-China economic ties.
“It is only through dialogue that we can understand each other’s concerns, find common ground and increase opportunities for cooperation,” he said.
“Economic and trade ties are the ballast for Sino-US relations,” he added. “A well-maintained economic and trade relationship is beneficial to both sides [our] countries and the whole world.”
“We hope the business relationship can bring stability to the whole relationship,” Raimondo replied to Li.
She also said the United States hopes to work with China on other issues such as climate change, artificial intelligence and America’s fentanyl crisis.
Vice Premier He, head of China’s powerful economic planning agency, previously pointed out that Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden met in Bali last November, where they reached an important consensus for the development of bilateral ties.
He said he hoped the United States would work with China to “establish rational and practical practices” and put the leaders’ recommendations into practice. He added that he is willing to work with Raimondo.
Raimondo met with Culture and Tourism Minister Hu Heping on Tuesday. According to Raimondo, the two agreed to promote “people-to-people ties” through increased tourism and educational and student exchanges.
The Commerce Secretary’s visit to China, the fourth by a Biden official in three months, comes at a time when both sides are trying to stabilize troubled relations. Her visit also coincides with a deepening economic slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
China’s growth forecasts have been downgraded by economists as exports and foreign investment slowed, the housing crisis deepened and concerns over the country’s overall financial position rose.
From Beijing’s perspective, Raimondo’s ministry has played a key role in a number of areas, including restricting semiconductor exports, that have fueled rising tensions.
On Monday, Raimondo said it was “of utmost importance” that the US and China had a stable economic relationship. She added that most US-China trade has no impact on national security concerns and that it is possible to simultaneously promote and protect US trade and security.
After their meetings on Monday, the United States announced that the two sides would establish new channels of communication on economic issues, including a working group composed of officials and companies from both countries and a mechanism to exchange information on US export control enforcement.
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