China, US to hold fresh talks on trade disputes

US and Chinese officials will hold a fresh round of talks on contentious trade issues Tuesday, the third day of a visit to Beijing by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Raimondo's trip to China is the latest by a senior US official in recent months as Washington seeks to defuse tensions with the world's second-largest economy.
On Monday she met with commerce minister Wang Wentao, with the two sides agreeing to set up a working group to iron out the laundry list of trade disputes between them.

They also agreed to set up what Washington called an "export control enforcement information exchange" -- described as a platform to "reduce misunderstanding of US national security policies".

The information exchange will convene for the first time at Beijing's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday, Washington said.

In a statement on the talks, the Commerce Department said that "Secretary Raimondo emphasized the importance of ensuring open lines of communication between the United States and China and took concrete steps to deliver on that goal".

But Beijing painted a less rosy picture, saying Wang had raised "serious concerns" over Washington's trade curbs on Chinese businesses.

Those included "US Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, its semiconductor policies, restrictions of two-way investment, discriminatory subsidies, and sanctions on Chinese enterprises", Beijing's commerce ministry said.

Washington defends the policies as necessary to "de-risk" its supply chains.

But Wang warned they "run counter to market rules and the principle of fair competition, and will only harm the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains".

Raimondo is set to meet with vice premier He Lifeng and culture minister Hu Heping on Tuesday, and pay a courtesy visit to Premier Li Qiang.

She will then head to China's economic powerhouse Shanghai, before leaving the country on Wednesday.

AFP/EM