Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced on Tuesday that she turned down China’s request to reduce the quantity of goods and services sold by the United States to them. The two governments have rules about controlling the export of technology that could be used for military purposes. However, they have agreed to have experts meet and talk about disagreements related to keeping trade secrets safe.
During a recent visit to improve icy relations, Raimondo said she expressed concerns to Chinese officials, including the country’s top leader. Technology companies are businesses that focus on creating and selling products or services related to technology. She said that the situation for foreign companies is getting more difficult because of a new law against spying and government investigations on consulting companies.
Raimondo, along with other American officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, visited Beijing in the last three months. They are trying to fix their relationships, which are currently at their worst point in many years because of disagreements over technology, security, Taiwan, and other problems.
A major issue for China is that they are not able to easily get computer chips and other technology from the United States. Technology for security reasons. This could make it difficult for the ruling Communist Party to achieve its goal of developing artificial intelligence and other industries. The regulations severely affected the smartphone business of Huawei Technologies Ltd. , China’s well-known global technology company.
Their request was to lessen the restrictions on technology that could potentially be used for military purposes, and to cancel an order issued by President Joe Biden that limits the United States. Raimondo said that investing in Chinese companies that may be connected to military development.
“Of course, I refused,” Raimondo said. “We don’t discuss or make deals about things that could harm our country’s safety. ”
The two governments agreed on Monday to share information about the United States. Export controls are regulations and procedures put in place by governments to monitor and limit the exportation of certain goods, technologies, or intellectual property, in order to protect national security, public health, or prevent the proliferation of weapons. Raimondo said that Washington wants people to follow the rules more.
Meanwhile, the two governments agreed to have experts meet to “begin to solve problems with sharing private business information,” Raimondo said.
“She said that one of the main things business people talk about all the time is keeping their trade secrets safe. ”
Before, Raimondo had a meeting with Premier Li. Premier Li requested that Washington take real steps to improve relations, referring to China’s desire for changes in the U. S The policy about Taiwan, technology, and other topics.
We hope that the United States Li said that our side will work together with the Chinese side, being honest and taking real actions.
Raimondo said that the meeting, which the American Embassy previously mentioned would only be a short and polite visit, actually lasted for one hour and fifteen minutes.
The leader of China, Xi Jinping, is working to make people more interested in investing in China and to make foreign companies feel safe. He is doing this to improve the country’s economy, which has been doing poorly. Raimondo said that she didn’t talk about the Chinese economy during her meetings, and she didn’t feel that her Chinese colleagues were motivated by the economic decline.
In August 2020, Beijing stopped talking to Washington about military, climate, and other matters because they were upset about a visit from former U. S Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Taiwanese House of Representatives. The Communist Party says that the self-governed island democracy is part of its land.
Relations between the two countries were already not good because of a trade war started by former President Donald Trump. He was unhappy with how Beijing was developing its industries. China’s trading partners say that China protects its new industries from competition, even though they promised to have open markets. They also say that China takes technology from foreign companies by either stealing it or putting pressure on them to give it up.
Foreign companies are facing worse conditions because of a law designed to prevent spying. This law has been expanded and now some companies are unsure about what kind of information they are allowed to collect from consumers and others. A company called Mintz Group got in trouble and had to pay $1. 5 million because it collected data in a wrong and improper way.
Raimondo mentioned that American companies told her that they are encountering a higher difficulty level in China. She mentioned that she had talked to about 120 to 150 CEOs and labor leaders on the phone to get ready for her trip.
Raimondo said we need that problem to be solved. “Each of those things can be dealt with to demonstrate action. ”
Raimondo mentioned that she also pushed Chinese leaders to share more details about limitations on American imports. The woman mentioned that technology companies seemed random and hard to predict, but she didn’t get any promises from them.
This year, Beijing told companies that make equipment handling sensitive information to stop using products from the largest American company. Micron Inc, which creates memory chips. It said the American company did not pass a security check, but did not provide any specifics, which led to ideas that the ban was done to get back at the U. S Restrictions on the use of technology.
Raimondo said the mood of her meetings was good, but she was aware that it would be hard to restart official conversations and achieve desired outcomes.
Raimondo said that we will wait and see if any action will be taken.
“She said we had a lot of honest conversation. ” “I want this to be the time when we begin to see things actually happening. ”
Chinese state media have portrayed the American visitors in a good light. But, Beijing has not shown any sign of changing its trade, strategic, and other policies that are creating tension with Washington, Europe, and its Asian neighbors.
On Tuesday, both parties had positive conversations about artificial intelligence regarding safety measures.
She said that the world wants our two countries to work together. “That was met with some openness. ”
The visits happen because Xi and Biden made a deal when they met in Indonesia last November.
Raimondo also met with Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is responsible for economic relations with Washington. He expressed optimism about having detailed conversations with Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, in July.
“I’m prepared to work together with you on that, to make new positive efforts to strengthen our agreement and expand our collaboration,” He told Raimondo.
Raimondo supported the plan of the Biden administration to make high-tech manufacturing safer in the US and find more places to get industrial supplies from to prevent problems. Beijing has said that this could be an effort to separate China and slow down its progress.
Raimondo told He that although we will always prioritize national security, we don’t want to separate or hinder China’s economy.
Raimondo said that she and Commerce Minister Wang Wentao had a two-hour lunch meeting on Monday. They agreed to have informal and frequent conversations to improve trade relations.
Raimondo said that she and Wang agreed to meet once a year and their deputies would meet twice a year as part of an agreement to form a group to talk about other business matters.
It won’t fix all our problems. When we talk, it doesn’t mean I’m going to give in or agree,” Raimondo said. “It means we have a chance to make fewer mistakes and exchange information. ”
Officials have decided to organize a meeting in early 2024 to discuss and plan ways to boost tourism between the two countries. This comes after China lifted its restrictions on travel due to the pandemic. The meeting aims to find ways to revive and promote tourism.
Chinese officials have agreed to start allowing big groups of tourists from China to visit the United States again, said Raimondo.