The United States and China are committed to holding new trade negotiations next year, the US Department of Commerce declared this Friday, despite the tensions that persist between both powers.
The announcement follows Wednesday’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, United States.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo held parallel talks with her counterpart Wang Wentao on Thursday.
“During the meeting, the two officials discussed the progress of the working group on trade issues and agreed to meet again in early 2024,” the US Department of Commerce said in a statement, cited by AFP.
The two sides will also hold technical talks in January on the protection of trade secrets.
The world’s two largest economies are involved in a fierce commercial and geopolitical rivalry.
The US makes special efforts to prevent China from accessing cutting-edge technologies, arguing that it is a matter of national security, to the dismay of China, which considers this harms its “legitimate interests.”
Raimondo was in Beijing last August, as part of a resumption of dialogue between Washington and Beijing that culminated in the meeting between Biden and Xi on Wednesday.
The Commerce Secretary “also insisted that protecting national security is non-negotiable,” the Commerce Department added, asserting that export controls were not designed to impede China’s economic growth.
Source: TSF
