Skift grip
The United States will not be able to see a full recovery in tourism until Chinese tourists return to pre-pandemic levels. We hope US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo returns from her meetings in Beijing with progress on the flight capacity issue.
Dawit Habtemariam
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo arrived in Beijing on Sunday evening for a four-day visit aimed at strengthening trade ties between the world’s two largest economies, while declaring US national security trade measures banned from debate.
Raimondo wants to boost travel and tourism between the two countries.
China and the United States agree on this point months to double the number of authorized flights between them – still a fraction of the number before the pandemic.
If China returned to 2019 US tourism levels, it would add $30 billion to the US economy and 50,000 jobs in the United States, Raimondo said.
Raimondo plans to visit Shanghai Disneyland, a joint venture between Walt Disney and China’s state-owned Shendi Group, a source told Reuters.
Another question that arises is when Chinese airlines might resume Boeing 737 MAX deliveries after a four-year hiatus. Raimondo said in 2021 that the Chinese government was preventing its airlines from buying “tens of billions of dollars” worth of Boeing planes.
Boeing says it is ready to deliver planes to Chinese airlines “when the time comes”.
“Many Challenges”
“If you want to give the journey and the mission a slogan, it’s protect what we must and promote where we can,” Raimondo told reporters on Friday before leaving for China. “I’m not going to do well next week when I get there but I intend to be practical.”
Relations are strained as the United States works with allies to block China’s access to advanced semiconductors, while Beijing restricts shipments from prominent chip company Micron Technology and has raided and fined 1.5 million dollars to the American company Mintz Group for carrying out “unapproved statistical work”.
Raimondo, who was greeted upon arrival by China’s Ministry of Commerce official Lin Feng, will hold bilateral meetings with Chinese officials Monday and Tuesday in Beijing before heading to Shanghai. She will be accompanied by US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.
Raimondo spoke to President Joe Biden on Thursday about his visit and his message was that enhanced dialogue with China can ease tensions.
“We want to have a stable business relationship, and for that regular communication is essential,” Raimondo said. “We have to communicate to avoid conflicts.”
Congressional Republicans have criticized the possibility of Raimondo establishing a working group with China during his visit to discuss US controls on semiconductor exports.
Raimondo did not confirm any task force plans, but stressed that she would tell Chinese officials, “When it comes to national security, we don’t negotiate. We don’t make concessions. We don’t compromise.
The United States is using government incentives and tax policy to draw American companies away from Chinese supply chains and increase American production of semiconductors.
“Just because we’re investing in America doesn’t mean we want to decouple from the Chinese economy,” Raimondo said.
Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng, who met Raimondo last week, said China seeks “mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation”.
The White House decided this month to begin banning certain U.S. investments in sensitive technologies in China and expects to soon finalize the drastic export restrictions on advanced semiconductors adopted in October.
Raimondo, the fourth senior US official to visit China recently, is the first Commerce Secretary to make the trip in seven years.
She spoke with more than 100 senior business leaders prior to the visit and pledged to raise their concerns.
“There are so many challenges to doing business in China and exporting to China, and China’s unfair trade practices have hurt American workers and businesses,” Raimondo said.
Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute, said that with a possible visit to the United States by President Xi Jinping approaching in less than three months, “Beijing has an interest in working with states United to identify practical areas in economic relations. where cooperation may be possible.
Reporting by David Shepardson in Beijing; additional reporting by Michael Martina in Washington; edited by Robert Birsel and Bill Berkrot
This article was written by David Shepardson of Reuters and was legally authorized by the Diving market by Industry Dive. Please direct all licensing questions to (email protected).
