China Raised Export, Sanctions Issues With Raimondo, Says Talks Were ‘Rational’

China’s commerce minister last week voiced “serious concerns” with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about U.S. semiconductor export control policies, investment restrictions, “discriminatory subsidies” and sanctions on Chinese companies, a ministry spokesperson told reporters during an Aug. 31 news conference. The minister also asked Raimondo for the U.S. to treat all companies “equally in terms of market access, regulatory enforcement, public procurement, and policy support,” the spokesperson said, according to an unofficial translation.

“The biggest risk affecting investment and operations in China is Sino-US relations,” the person said, “which greatly increases the expected instability.”

But the spokesperson also said the two countries’ agreement to create a new trade working group and share information on export control enforcement (see 2308280042 and 2308300036) represented “concrete and practical results.” China said the trade working group will be designed to “focus on the concerns of the business circles of the two countries, and is committed to jointly discussing solutions to specific commercial issues,” and the export control enforcement talks will help “express the concerns of enterprises of both sides.”

The spokesperson said the talks between Raimondo and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao were “rational, pragmatic and professional in-depth exchanges on economic and trade issues” of mutual concern. China is “willing to work together with the United States,” the spokesperson said, including to “strengthen communication and coordination and promote the resolution of specific economic and trade issues encountered by enterprises of the two countries.”