The United States and China have committed to holding new trade talks next year, the US Commerce Department said on Friday, despite tensions between the two great powers.
The announcement comes after President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met on Wednesday on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in San Francisco.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo held parallel talks on Thursday with her counterpart Wang Wentao.
“During the meeting, the two officials reviewed the progress of the working group on trade issues and agreed to meet again face-to-face in early 2024,” the Commerce Department said in a statement.
Fierce rivalry
The two sides will also hold technical discussions in January on the protection of trade secrets.
The world’s two largest economies are immersed in a fierce commercial and geopolitical rivalry.
The United States is making particular efforts to prevent China from accessing cutting-edge technologies, citing a matter of national security, much to the dismay of China, which sees this as harming its “legitimate interests.”
Gina Raimondo traveled to Beijing last August, as part of the resumption of dialogue between Washington and Beijing that culminated in the Biden-Xi summit on Wednesday.
Gina Raimondo “a également insisté sur le fait que la protection de la sécurité nationale n’était pas négociable”, ajouté le département du Commerce, en assurant que les contrôles à l’exportation n’étaient pas désignés pour empêcher la croissance économique de China.
Source: BFM TV
