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US commerce chief Gina Raimondo to visit China for three days seeking ‘constructive discussion’

  • Raimondo in trip to Beijing and Shanghai plans to raise Washington’s concerns about weak transparency in Beijing’s economic and national security data
  • Latest trip by a senior US official increases likelihood of Xi Jinping and Joe Biden meeting this year

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Gina Raimondo will be the latest member of the Biden administration to travel to Beijing in a bid to stabilise US-China relations. Photo: Bloomberg
Mark Magnierin New York

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China for three days from Sunday in the latest attempt by Washington and Beijing to put a floor under their deteriorating relationship.

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Raimondo will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and meet with Chinese officials and business executives. The visit materialised from an invitation by Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, ministry officials said, without providing additional details.

“Secretary Raimondo looks forward to constructive discussions on issues relating to the US-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by US businesses, and areas for potential cooperation,” the Commerce Department said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.

The latest China trip by a senior member of the Biden administration makes it increasingly likely that President Xi Jinping will meet President Joe Biden in San Francisco on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November.
Biden is freezing out China’s tech industry

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Raimondo would raise US concerns about weak transparency in Chinese economic and national security data, explain the rationale behind recent US outbound investment policies and reiterate that it does not want an economically weak China.

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