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Competing with China not ‘easy’, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says

  • She said despite strengths like US universities and billions in government funding for chips and research, it would take hard work to counter the Asian giant
  • Raimondo insisted, however, that the US is not seeking to decouple its economy from China’s

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US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo speaks in Mexico City in September. Photo: AP

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday that Washington must do more to counter China while insisting the world’s two largest economies should not isolate from each other.

Raimondo cited US strengths like American universities, billions of dollars in government funding for semiconductors and research, and strong allies around the world as assets when competing with China.

“Despite all of these advantages – and they are many – competing effectively with China isn’t going to be easy. It’s going to take hard work and it’s going to take the work of everyone, not just the government,” Raimondo said at a speech at MIT.

She said the United States is “not seeking the decoupling in any way of our economy from that of China’s”. She added that “cutting edge technology, that China wants to get its hands on to put into military capacity … We’re not going to allow that.”

The United States and China have sharply clashed in recent years. Raimondo laid out a detailed strategy to counter China in her speech.

“We are aiming to bolster our system of export controls, enhance our investment screening regimes, strengthen our supply chain resiliency, and develop innovative solutions to counter China’s economic coercion and human rights abuses,” Raimondo said.

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