China Trade Dialogue Resumes

On Thursday, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao in Washington, DC. Their discussion encompassed several aspects of the U.S.-China trade relationship, including potential areas of cooperation and the overall trading environment.

Secretary Raimondo expressed concerns about recent actions taken by the People's Republic of China (PRC) against U.S. companies operating within its jurisdiction.

"Recent actions" includes Beijing's ban on U.S. firm Micron Technology from selling memory chips to significant domestic industries.  

The largest U.S. memory chip manufacturer, Micron, was declared to have failed a network security review by China's cyberspace regulator late Sunday. The regulator announced plans to prevent key infrastructure operators from purchasing from Micron, although no specifics about the identified risks or affected products were provided.

The following day, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Minister Wang on the sidelines of the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting.

Ambassador Tai shared her perspective on the progress made by APEC members, outlined U.S. priorities, and underscored the importance of the U.S.-China trade relationship in the global economy. S

he highlighted the need to address imbalances stemming from China's state-led, non-market economic and trade policies. She also raised concerns about actions taken against U.S. companies in China.

In both meetings, the U.S. officials reiterated their commitment to maintaining open lines of communication and building on the engagement initiated between President Biden and President Xi during their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, in November 2022.