China, US to Hold Fresh Talks on Trade Disputes

A fresh round of talks between US and Chinese officials on sensitive trade matters will begin on Tuesday, the third day of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's visit to Beijing.

As Washington works to ease tensions with the second-largest economy in the world, Raimondo's trip to China is the most recent one by a top US official in recent months.

She met with Wang Wentao, the minister of commerce, on Monday, and they decided to form a working group to resolve their numerous trade disagreements.

They also agreed to set up what Washington called an "export control enforcement information exchange" -- described as a platform to "reduce misunderstanding of US national security policies".

The information exchange will convene for the first time at Beijing's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday, Washington said.

In a statement on the talks, the Commerce Department said that "Secretary Raimondo emphasized the importance of ensuring open lines of communication between the United States and China and took concrete steps to deliver on that goal".

But Beijing painted a less rosy picture, saying Wang had raised "serious concerns" over Washington's trade curbs on Chinese businesses.

Those included "US Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, its semiconductor policies, restrictions of two-way investment, discriminatory subsidies, and sanctions on Chinese enterprises", Beijing's commerce ministry said.

Washington defends the policies as necessary to "de-risk" its supply chains.

But Wang warned they "run counter to market rules and the principle of fair competition, and will only harm the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains".

Raimondo is set to meet with vice premier He Lifeng and culture minister Hu Heping on Tuesday, and pay a courtesy visit to Premier Li Qiang.

She will then head to China's economic powerhouse Shanghai, before leaving the country on Wednesday.

Raimondo is one of a number of senior US officials to visit China in recent months -- part of an effort by Washington to improve its working relationship with its largest strategic rival.

Relations between the two countries have plummeted to some of their lowest levels in decades, with US trade curbs near the top of the list of disagreements.

This month, Biden issued an executive order aimed at restricting certain US investments in sensitive high-tech areas in China -- a move Beijing blasted as being "anti-globalisation".

The long-anticipated rules, expected to be implemented next year, target sectors such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

During a visit to Beijing last month, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tried to reassure Chinese officials about the anticipated limits.

The great bulk of our trade and investment relationship, Raimondo said to Chinese officials on Monday, "does not involve national security concerns," even if there is "no room for compromise or negotiation" on US national security.

"We want China to engage in healthy competition. We both benefit from a developing Chinese economy that adheres to the law, the speaker declared.

During his visit to Beijing in June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with President Xi Jinping and declared that significant strides had been achieved on a number of major points of disagreement. John Kerry, a US climate envoy, also traveled to China in July.