US tells China hi-tech trade limits are ‘not negotiable’ in meeting of commerce chiefs

American side cites Washington’s national-security concerns about Beijing’s military uses and electric vehicles, among other industries

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US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, a former governor of Rhode Island, spoke by phone with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, on Tuesday. Photo: AP

Published: 6:23am, 9 Oct 2024Updated: 5:44pm, 9 Oct 2024

US President Joe Biden’s restrictions on hi-tech trade with China came to a head in meetings between the countries’ top commerce officials.

In a call with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo defended these rules put in place on national-security grounds as “not negotiable”, her department said on Tuesday.

Raimondo “noted ongoing concerns from the US business community about decreasing regulatory transparency in the PRC, non-market policies and practices, and structural overcapacity in a range of industrial sectors”, according to a read-out.

“Secretary Raimondo reiterated that US national security is not negotiable and re-emphasised that the US government’s ‘small-yard, high-fence’ approach aims to safeguard US national security in as targeted a manner as possible, while leaving space for healthy trade and investment,” it added.

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The Biden administration has sought to tackle increasing concerns in the US about China’s growing military presence in the Indo-Pacific and manufacturing dominance in key industries such as electric vehicles.