The USA and China have agreed to set up a new working group in the dispute over trade issues. The consultation mechanism should include government representatives from the USA and China as well as representatives from the private sector, as the US Department of Commerce announced on Monday after talks between Minister Gina Raimondo and Chinese Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing.
The working group is to meet twice a year from the beginning of 2024. A new exchange of information on the enforcement of export controls is also planned.
Raimondo began her political talks in Beijing on Monday. Your China trip should last until Wednesday. As the Hong Kong newspaper “South China Morning Post” reported, before the meeting with Wang, Raimondo spoke of a “complicated” and “challenging” relationship between the two countries. Of course, opinions will differ on some issues, “but I think we can make progress,” Raimondo continued.
Raimondo’s China visit comes amid high tensions between Washington and Beijing. Her trip follows visits by other senior US officials to China. Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken flew to Beijing in May and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July. The trips also serve as an attempt to revive the exchange between the two sides after a period of radio silence.
Relations between the two largest economies have been at an all-time low, given US President Joe Biden’s tough stance on China, ongoing trade disputes and China’s backing for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. China’s territorial claims in the South and East China Seas and Beijing’s threats to the democratic island republic of Taiwan are also putting a heavy strain on the relationship.