US Commerce Chief Leaves China After ‘Productive’ Talks

Raimondo says breach of her email account by CCP-linked hackers 'erodes trust'

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo speaks during a press conference at the Boeing Shanghai Aviation Service Co. in Shanghai on Aug. 30, 2023. Andy Wong/Pool/ AFP via Getty Images

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo wrapped up her visit to China on Aug. 30, after three days of talks with the regime’s officials that she called “productive.”

“It was for, as I say, three days of productive meetings,” Ms. Raimondo said during a call with members of the media that afternoon. “And the biggest achievement was just to start regular communication.

“It’s really important to remember the context here. This is the first time in more than five years that a U.S. commerce secretary ... has come to China to have discussions. So the achievement was to have face-to-face discussions and to put on the table some of the biggest challenges in our trade and investment and our commercial relationship.

“It’s a big step forward.”

Ms. Raimondo is the latest U.S. cabinet official to visit China, following Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and John Kerry, President Joe Biden’s climate envoy.

Bilateral relations have worsened over a slew of issues, from the regime’s aggression toward self-ruled Taiwan to the breach of U.S. government emails. Ms. Raimondo’s own email was among the tens of thousands of accounts hacked by China-linked cybercriminals.

“I did mention that my own emails had been hacked” during the meeting with the regime’s officials, Ms. Raimondo said. “I mentioned that as an example of an action that erodes trust at a time that we are trying to stabilize the relationship and increase channels of communication.”

With tensions simmering, the Biden administration is seeking to reopen high-level communication lines with China. The communist regime in Beijing canceled the interaction with Washington on military, climate, and several other major areas in August 2022, following then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

So far, the regime has agreed to resume only the climate talks. The military-to-military hotline remains frozen, despite Mr. Blinken “repeatedly” raising the issues during his trip to China.

‘Too Risky’

In a meeting with Shanghai’s Party boss Chen Jining on Aug. 30, Ms. Raimondo said it’s important to have “a stable economic relationship” between the United States and China.

“I agree with you that a stable relationship can be a balance for our overall relationship,” she said at the start of the meeting. “A stable economic relationship is good for America, good for China, and good for the world.”

The commerce secretary said she looks forward to their conversation to “bring about a more predictable business environment, a predictable regulatory environment, and a level playing field for American businesses here in Shanghai.”

Ms. Raimondo’s comment came as the regime is in need of foreign investment; the world’s second-biggest economy is faltering amid a property crisis and record-high youth unemployment.

Several raids and arrests earlier this year have rattled foreign investors. On Aug. 29, Ms. Raimondo said that U.S. executives told her that China’s business environment had become “too risky.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (L) talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining during a meeting in Shanghai on Aug. 30, 2023. Andy Wong /Pool/ AFP via Getty Images

Challenges posed to U.S. firms operating in China aren’t limited to issues such as state subsidies to their Chinese rivals and intellectual property theft. There’s a new host of problems such as “exorbitant fines without any explanation” and raids on U.S. firms, Ms. Raimondo said.

What compounds the situation is the vaguely worded anti-espionage law, which went into effect on July 1. The legislation expanded the scope of “espionage activities” to include “documents, data, materials, or items related to national security and interests,” without specifying what falls under national security. Ms. Raimondo said the amendment to the legislation is “unclear and sending shockwaves through the U.S. community.”

“Increasingly, I hear from American business that China is uninvestible because it’s become too risky,” she told reporters aboard a high-speed train to Shanghai on the night of Aug. 29.

She said there was “no rationale given” for Chinese actions against chipmaker Micron Technology, whose products were restricted by Beijing earlier this year, and rejected any comparisons to U.S. export controls.

“There has been limited due process, and that’s why I brought it up.”

Ms. Raimondo “raised key issues of concern for U.S. businesses and workers, including the level playing field for U.S. companies and workers,” the subsidization of Chinese companies, and “underdeveloped intellectual property protections” during the meeting with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng on Aug. 29, according to a Commerce Department statement.

She also emphasized the United States’ commitment to “ensuring fair and transparent treatment of U.S. companies and creating a level playing field for U.S. workers and businesses” to China’s Premier Li Qiang, a separate statement from the department said.

At a news conference in Shanghai, Ms. Raimondo said she hadn’t expected any breakthroughs on issues affecting U.S. firms such as Intel, Micron, Boeing, Visa, and Mastercard in her first meetings with Chinese officials, but that she did hope to “see some results” in the next few months as a result of her visits to Beijing and Shanghai.

‘Challenges Ahead’

In addition to her talks with Mr. Li and Mr. He, the U.S. commerce chief held talks with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, and Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping earlier.

“In these meetings, we had candid, constructive conversations,” Ms. Raimondo said on Aug. 30. “I was able to explain our policies and our approach to China, and I heard from my Chinese counterparts. ”

During her trip to China, Ms. Raimondo said several times that her position is that the United States isn’t seeking to decouple from communist China, but as for national security, there’s no room for compromise.

The regime’s officials, however, made it clear that Beijing is unhappy about the U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, export controls, and restrictions on investment, according to China’s Commerce Ministry.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (C) leaves after a news conference at the Boeing Shanghai Aviation Service Co., in Shanghai, on Aug. 30, 2023. Andy Wong/Pool/ AFP via Getty Images

“Overall, as I just said, this trip is an excellent start, but I’m very clear-eyed about the challenges ahead,” Ms. Raimondo said. “In the next few months, we have to get to work to see whether we can make progress on the issues raised.”

On the last day of her China trip, Ms. Raimondo also spoke at a conference for women executives, met with students at New York University, and had quick tours of the Disney theme park and a Boeing facility in Shanghai.

‘Dangerous’

Among the agreements reached during her trip was the creation of two communication channels—the “commercial issues” working group and the “export control enforcement information” dialogue—which she said are important to increase transparency.

But the idea of talking with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on such issues has already drawn criticism from some Republicans.

“The Biden administration’s decision to join forces with the Chinese Communist Party to establish a working group on export controls and commercial issues with CCP officials is at best naive, but also dangerous,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

He pointed to the CCP’s expansive campaign of stealing U.S. intellectual property, which costs Americans up to $600 billion every year, according to an estimation by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property.

“The administration must stop treating the CCP as anything other than an adversary who will stop at nothing to harm our national security and spread its malign authoritarianism around the globe,” Mr. McCaul said.

Reuters contributed to this report.