Here's what the U.S. hopes China will do after Raimondo's trip
BEIJING — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has left Beijing with a few deliverables: plans for formal discussions on export controls and tourism.
«Now it's more than just agreements to keep talking. It's a specific channel to address commercial issues,» Raimondo told reporters late Tuesday as she was leaving the capital city for Shanghai.
«I hope that this becomes a moment where we start to see action.»
In her two days in Beijing, Raimondo met with Premier Li Qiang, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping.
Here's what they agreed to do, according to public announcements:
«This is a very important visit because we had no active senior commercial dialogue,» U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns told reporters late Tuesday. He noted that in his first 15 months in China as ambassador, there were no U.S. discussions at a senior level with Chinese officials.
There was «no way to deliver really tough messages, no way to listen and provide some context for why they're making decisions,» Burns said. «In a very, very challenging relationship intensive diplomacy is critical.»
Raimondo's visit marks the latest in a series of renewed high-level U.S. official trips to China this summer amid a tense bilateral relationship.
«China and the U.S. agree to continue to maintain communication, and support practical cooperation between businesses from both countries,» according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese-language readout of Raimondo's meeting with Vice Premier He, who is also the Chinese leader on China-U.S. trade and economic affairs.
The brief readout of the meeting also said the Chinese side raised concerns about U.S. tariffs, export controls on China, investment
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