On Friday, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo took part in a commercial dialogue between the United States and India in New Delhi. While the bulk of the discussion centered around strengthening trade relations between the two nations, Raimondo also clarified the United States' position on doing business with China, stating that the Biden administration views the country as one from which it “does not seek to decouple.”
The commerce secretary noted that while the US will continue to engage in trade with China, it hopes to protect itself and its allies from the Chinese Communist Party's technological ambitions.
“I want to be also clear though, the United States does not seek to decouple from China,” Raimondo began, “nor does it seek a technological decoupling from China.”
“What we seek to do,” she explained, “is ensure that certain technologies, where the United States is ahead, and where China's explicit strategy is to have these technologies and deploy them in the Chinese military apparatus. Those are technologies that we have used export controls to ban the sale of to China.”
Raimondo reiterated that the US “enjoy[s] trade with China,” pointing out that “the vast majority of trade with China is in benign products,” and “should continue.”
The US has taken measures to limit China's ability to control certain markets, including placing export controls on chip-making technologies, and encouraging American companies to invest more in other more trusted nations, such as India.
As Bloomberg reports, Raimondo announced earlier this month that a trip to China similar to that which she has taken to India could be imminent.
In an interview with the outlet, she stated that the Biden administration was “looking to engage with China in all ways that are good for America, commercially, diplomatically.”
“That communication is intended to de-escalate,” she added. “That's where we want to be in our relationship with China — not escalating.”
