US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stressed the need for a predictable regulatory environment in China as she wrapped up a visit to the nation intended to improve economic ties.
(Bloomberg) — US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stressed the need for a predictable regulatory environment in China as she wrapped up a visit to the nation intended to improve economic ties.
“There’s business we can do and there’s business to be done,” Raimondo said in a Boeing Co. aircraft hangar Wednesday at one of Shanghai’s airports. She described the trip as a “very productive” one where she met Premier Li Qiang and other senior officials in Beijing, spoke to US businesspeople and visited Disneyland and New York University’s campus in Shanghai.
Nothing good comes from a lack of communication or decoupling, Raimondo said, adding that US businesses want a less arbitrary environment in China.
The visit by the US’s top trade promoter is the fourth to China by a cabinet-level official from Washington in recent months, with that pace of discussion underscoring the effort that both sides are putting in to stabilize ties. Tensions have been high for years over multiple issues, including the future of Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that the US shot down in February.
Earlier this week she said American companies have told her that making investments in the world’s second-biggest economy has become difficult.
Too Risky
“Increasingly I hear from businesses, ‘China is uninvestible because it’s become too risky,’” Raimondo told reporters on Tuesday.
The hangar where Raimondo spoke to the media before departing was owned by one of Boeing Co.’s Shanghai divisions. Bloomberg News reported last week that Boeing was ready to restart delivery of the 737 Max jets to China within weeks.
While the delivery restart wasn’t expected to coincide with Raimondo’s trip, according to people familiar with the matter, the location of Raimondo’s parting address stirred speculation about whether China would agree to accept 737 Max deliveries again. The commerce secretary did not explain why the hangar was chosen as the site of her final public appearance in China, nor did she mention Boeing.
She reiterated instead that trade can help improve ties between the world’s biggest economies as it’s a way to reduce tension and provide practical, concrete opportunities to work together.
The biggest takeaway from her trip is a commitment from both China and the US to communicate more, Raimondo said. The two nations have announced new information exchanges and working groups to discuss trade and investment issues, as well as US export controls.
–With assistance from Danny Lee.
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