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.

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.