No room to negotiate on national security with China: US commerce secy

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 semi-conductors.

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

“It’s a complicated relationship. It’s 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.”
 

When asked about the  issue of national security, Raimondo said “there is no room to compromise or negotiate” on matters of national security, and that while US moves are “not intended to hinder China’s economic progress”, the US is seeking “healthy competition with China”, according to the South China Morning Post’s report.
 

She added that a growing Chinese economy that plays by the rules is in both of their interest. “That said, we have to make sure there is a level playing field, and we will at all times do what we need to do to protect our workers,” she said. 
 

Raimondo, who is holding three days of talks with Chinese and business leaders to boost ties, met with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Monday for just over two hours.
 

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 was ready to work together to “foster a more favourable policy environment for stronger cooperation between our businesses to bolster bilateral trade and investment in a stable and predictable manner.”

US and China agree to export control information dialogue

After meetings between US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, the exchange would provide a “platform to reduce misunderstandings of US national security policies,” Raimondo said, adding: “We are not compromising or negotiating on matters of national security.”