What important signals are being released?, Establishing "New Communication Channels" between China and the United States

"It is extremely important for China and the United States to maintain stable economic relations, which is also the world's expectation," said US Commerce Secretary Raymond, who was visiting Beijing on August 28th.

At the invitation of Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, Raymond will visit China from August 27th to 30th. This trip is her first visit to China.

As the fourth senior US official to visit China recently, what signals does Raymond's visit send? How will China and the United States face each other's differences and challenges in the future?

What information did Raymond reveal during his first visit to China?

On the evening of August 27th, the latest "envoy" sent by the Biden administration, US Secretary of Commerce Raymond, arrived in Beijing by plane.

According to American media, Raymond studied at Yale Law School and Harvard University, and is a venture capitalist who has served as the governor of Rhode Island. Among the several core policies of the Biden administration, the US Department of Commerce under her leadership plays an important role in projects related to revitalizing the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

It is worth noting that Raymond, 52, is the fourth senior US official to visit China recently, after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of the Treasury Yellen and Special Climate Envoy Kerry. She is also the first US Secretary of Commerce to visit China in seven years.

What information has been revealed by the successive visits of US high-ranking officials to China? The US Department of Commerce stated in a statement that Raymond's visit aims to discuss the US China economic and trade relationship, the challenges faced by US companies, and potential areas of cooperation.

The New York Times believes that two key issues are likely to be the focus of Raymond's visit:

One is to promote business relations that are in line with the interests of the United States. Raymond and other US officials believe that there is still great trade potential between the world's two largest economies, and China remains the third largest export market for the United States, providing a large number of job opportunities for exports to China.

Secondly, promote government communication between China and the United States. She stated that she recently had a phone call with US President Biden, who asked her to convey a message to the Chinese side that "we need to communicate to avoid conflict.".

"Positive signs": China and the United States establish new communication channels

Reuters noted that just before Raymond's visit to China, the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security issued a statement on August 21, stating that the US Department of Commerce has removed 33 entities from the "unverified list", including 27 entities located in China.

The US State Department stated on August 23 that the US is seeking to extend the decades old US China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement for six months in order to strengthen the agreement and engage in consultations with China.

On August 28th, under high external attention, Raymond and Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao held talks in Beijing, engaging in rational, candid, and constructive communication on the US China economic and trade relations and common economic and trade issues of concern.

After nearly 4 and a half hours of in-depth conversation, what achievements have both sides reached?

According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, Wang Wentao and Raymond recognized the importance of open and productive dialogue between China and the United States in the field of economic and trade, and announced the establishment of a new communication channel between the two ministries of commerce.

·Both sides have established a working group consisting of Chinese and American vice ministerial and bureau level government officials, with representatives from enterprises participating, to seek solutions to specific business issues.

·Both sides have initiated an export control information exchange mechanism as a mechanism to explain their respective export control systems and improve communication.

·Both sides discussed and agreed that experts from both countries will conduct technical consultations on strengthening the protection of trade secrets and confidential business information during the administrative licensing process.

The South China Morning Post pointed out that the continuous and stable progress of the high-level meeting between China and the United States has enhanced the comfort level of both sides in their work. Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao said that this would help ease tensions between China and the United States. The willingness of both sides to propose a dialogue mechanism could be seen as a "positive sign".

Moving towards each other, the US should extend the cooperation list

However, at the same time, it remains to be seen how much of the US commitment can be implemented and whether it will be "lip service but not practical".

Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Shu Jueting stated on August 24th that China has noticed that bilateral trade and investment between China and the United States have also encountered some difficulties and challenges recently, which are closely related to a series of unilateral and protectionist measures implemented by the United States.

Shu Jueting pointed out that the trade volume between China and the United States continues to shrink. According to Chinese statistics, the trade volume between China and the United States decreased by 9.6% year-on-year in the first seven months of 2023, with China's exports to the United States decreasing by 13% year-on-year. In addition, Biden issued an executive order restricting US entities from investing in China's semiconductor, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence sectors.

In response, the Russian newspaper Independence pointed out that the United States claims not to want China and the United States to "decouple", believing that trade between the two countries is mutually beneficial. But it tries to impose its own conditions on the Chinese side. At the same time, it is not ruled out that due to the upcoming US presidential election, the United States may impose new restrictions on Chinese companies.

In fact, economic and trade relations have always been the cornerstone of China US relations, and the essence of China US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win. If the relationship between the two countries continues to deteriorate, it is clearly not in line with the common interests of both countries and their peoples.

According to the latest research data from the American Chamber of Commerce in China, 74% of companies "have not considered transferring production or procurement outside of China," according to National Public Broadcasting Corporation. The report suggests that this reflects the mutual needs between China and the United States.

As pointed out by Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, today's world is intertwined with turmoil, global economic recovery is weak, and crises are constantly emerging. China and the United States are on the same planet, and no one can stand alone. The US should work towards China, elongate the cooperation list, shorten the negative list, and work together to stabilize China US relations.