Commerce Secretary Raimondo's visit raises hopes of pragmatic biz ties

China looks forward to in-depth discussions with the United States on resolving their differences on the economic and trade fronts during a visit by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo next week, the Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday.

China will state its position on economic and trade issues to the US during Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao's meeting with Raimondo, and hopes to advance pragmatic cooperation, said Shu Jueting, spokeswoman of the ministry, at a news briefing.

We have noted that China and the US have recently encountered some difficulties and challenges in bilateral trade and investment, which are closely related to the series of unilateral and protectionist measures taken by the US side, Shu said.

The essence of China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win results, and serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples, Shu said.

China will continue to raise relevant economic and trade concerns with the US and strive to create a fair and stable business climate for enterprises of both sides to carry out trade and investment cooperation, Shu said.

The US Department of Commerce said in a statement on Tuesday that Raimondo will make stops in Beijing and Shanghai from Sunday to Wednesday for talks with senior officials and US business leaders, and hopes for constructive discussions on issues relating to the US-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by US businesses, and areas for potential cooperation.

Raimondo's visit is scheduled just weeks after US President Joe Biden's signing of an executive order to block and regulate US high-tech investment in China covering sectors like advanced computer chips, micro electronics, quantum information technologies and artificial intelligence.

Raimondo will be the fourth high-level US government official to visit China this year. Her visit comes close on the heels of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Presidential Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

This marks the latest in a recent series of senior US government official visits in the hope of mitigating increasingly strained relations between the world's two largest economies, said Wei Zongyou, a professor at the Center for American Studies of Fudan University in Shanghai.

The Biden administration hopes to increase high-level exchanges and dialogue between the two sides, so as to minimize misunderstandings and miscalculations, manage differences, improve US-China relations and seek pragmatic cooperation, Wei said.

Businesspeople on both sides appear to be eager to find out whether the meeting will take a step toward resolving such issues as additional tariffs, suppression of Chinese high-tech enterprises, abuse of export controls and blocking US high-tech investment in China, Wei said.

A day before the Chinese Commerce Ministry's announcement of Raimondo's visit, the US Department of Commerce removed 27 Chinese entities from its Unverified List — a roster of businesses that are subject to stricter export controls as the US government was unable to complete customary checks.