Commerce chiefs meet in Washington to smoothen bilateral trade relationship

China and the United States agreed to continue to strengthen their communication channels and engage in discussions to identify potential areas of cooperation, said the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

The ministry issued the statement after Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in Washington and US Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Detroit during the 29th APEC Trade Ministers' Meeting in late May.

The US CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, semiconductor industry policies and export controls are the main economic and trade concerns for the Chinese side, and these issues were raised by Wang during his talks with the US side, said Shu Jueting, a spokeswoman for the ministry.

The US CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 prohibits companies from expanding their advanced semiconductor manufacturing in China for 10 years after they receive subsidies to build US plants.

During the talks, the two sides had in-depth exchanges on these topics and agreed to continue discussions in the future, Shu said at a weekly news conference in Beijing.

She said both sides recognize the significance of the Sino-US economic and trade relationship. They exchanged views on their respective concerns regarding economic and trade issues and explored potential areas of cooperation.

China and the US should work together to effectively manage their differences and jointly uphold and deepen pragmatic economic and trade cooperation between the two countries, said Shu, stressing that the cooperation will benefit both countries and their people, as well as promote global economic growth.

At a summit organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in Beijing last week, Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, said that his organization looks forward to advancing the healthy growth of China-US business ties through constructive dialogue and engagement in the coming years.

All related parties should work together to ensure the two countries pursue a path that does not allow the competitive concerns between them to outweigh the benefits of cooperation, said Allen.

Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said there will be abundant opportunities for collaboration, in particular in the fields of agriculture, aviation, healthcare and automotive, in the years ahead. It is also no surprise that US companies in the consumer sector are still expanding in China, given the size of its market.

"During our meeting with the National Development and Reform Commission, we were heartened to hear that there continues to be a valued role for US companies to contribute to the development of the Chinese economy," said Hart. "Many of our member companies were interested to learn more about specific new opportunities for participation, whether in green energy or electric vehicles."

Upbeat about the Chinese market, US carmaker Tesla announced in April that it will build a new factory in Shanghai to manufacture its energy-storage product Megapack.

Supported by its continued investment in product innovation, digitization and supply chains in China, US chain Starbucks Coffee Co also announced earlier this week that it plans to have up to 9,000 store across the country by 2025.

Minister Wang also attended the ministerial meeting of China and members of the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement in Detroit last week, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Wang highlighted China's strong commitment to joining DEPA. Since the establishment of its DEPA working group, the Chinese government has collaborated effectively with member countries, achieving notable progress.

Currently, multiple regions within China are proactively engaging with DEPA and are exploring cooperation in various fields. Some projects have made positive progress. China looks forward to enhancing practical cooperation with DEPA members while advancing accession negotiations, with the aim of facilitating the early implementation of more projects, he added.