Trade is at the center of the US and UK ministers’ visit to China
After US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will also come to Beijing for a two-day visit. According to the China scholar Baudouin Boldermans, the main focus is on enhancing communication and mutual cooperation, especially in the field of trade.
In order to achieve ever better business relations, it is crucial to remove tension from the air. Raimondo was therefore given the task of explaining the limited access to advanced chips and other technologies that the United States imposed on China. However, according to Boldermans, there is no room for discussion about US export restrictions regarding Chinese military activities.
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What is important in all of this, according to Boldermans, is that Raimundo adopts a completely different tone from a number of Republican presidential candidates. They are in sharp contrast to that: they want a more aggressive and confrontational approach to China. Concretely, it was agreed to establish two working groups to improve the exchange of bilateral information.
“So Cleverly’s visit is shrouded in secrecy: how are we going to present that to China?”
annual meeting
One working group will deal with more trade issues and will meet twice a year from next year. This working group is composed of representatives from the business community and government officials. Boldermans says the other working group will mainly discuss export controls and see if it can get more companies to do business with China. “Finally, they agreed that Raimondo and the Chinese Minister of Commerce would meet annually.”
Boldermans stresses that with a trade volume of at least $700 billion, the interdependence between the United States and China remains significant. ‘Many 27 company Raimondo van de Unverified list It has nothing to do with military sensitivities, so that can be dealt with. From the Chinese side, it is important to revive the economy in any way possible.
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For British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, rapprochement with Beijing is also high on the list, although the shopping list looks a little different. He was also given the human rights situation in Hong Kong and Tibet, among others, as a topic of conversation. Undoubtedly, potential cooperation in the field of climate change and economic stability will also be discussed.
UK AI Summit
In addition, says Boldermans, there will be a major international hub summit in the field of artificial intelligence, which will be held in the United Kingdom in November. There has been a great deal of debate about whether or not China should be involved. And the United States, the European Union and Japan, in fact, oppose it. So Cleverly’s visit is shrouded in secrecy: how are we going to present that to China?
Because it seems that there is not yet complete clarity about the position of these countries on China’s access to the Amnesty International meeting, says Boldermans. “So this should also become clear.” The trick is to do it skillfully. “The relationship between the UK and China hasn’t been this bad in years, in fact it’s minus ten.”
