On August 24, 2003, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Raimondo will visit China from August 27 to 30 at the invitation of Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao. This is Raimondo's first visit to China since he took office as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and the fourth U.S. official to visit China recently. Raimondo will discuss the U.S.-China business relationship and potential areas of cooperation.

Recent high-level contacts between the U.S. and China are showing positive momentum, and Raimondo will be the fourth high-level official from the Biden administration to visit China since June. Previously, Secretary of State Lincoln, Treasury Secretary Yellen, and Presidential Special Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry have visited China.

The visit of these officials is also seen as paving the way for a meeting between the leaders of China and the United States. In November this year, the 30th informal meeting of leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will be held in San Francisco, U.S.A., and there will be a lot of attention on whether the leaders of China and the U.S.A. will meet at that time.

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Commerce, Raimondo will visit Beijing and Shanghai during his trip to China, where he will meet with senior Chinese officials and U.S. business leaders. Raimondo had a productive meeting with Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng and had constructive discussions about the U.S.-China business relationship, challenges facing U.S. businesses, potential areas of cooperation, and issues of importance to the United States, its businesses, and its workers.

Raimondo plays a key role in the U.S.-China economic and trade relationship. She leads the U.S. Department of Commerce's efforts to promote U.S.-China trade and is involved in managing U.S. export controls on China and restrictions on U.S. investment in China in a wide range of advanced technology sectors.

On August 9 this year, U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order restricting foreign investment, including restrictions on U.S. investment in China's semiconductor, microelectronics, quantum information technology and artificial intelligence sectors. China expressed strong dissatisfaction with this and made solemn representations to the U.S. side.

According to an earlier report by Bloomberg, Raimondo's trip could lead to an agreement with China to set up a joint working group of the U.S. and Chinese commerce ministries to discuss U.S. export controls on China.

According to the New York Times, one of Raimondo's responsibilities is to promote the interests of American businesses abroad. She will likely try to expand U.S.-China business relations through her visit to China, and expressed concern about China's alleged "crackdown" on foreign companies.

At a sensitive time in U.S.-China relations, Raimondo's visit will send a message that the U.S. does not seek to contain China or "decouple" the U.S. from China. The U.S. is committed to maintaining its economic relationship with China and wants to use diplomacy to manage the complexity of the relationship and avoid escalation into conflict.

Public opinion has noted that the day before the official announcement of Raimondo's visit, the U.S. Department of Commerce unexpectedly announced the removal of 33 entities from the unverified list, including 27 Chinese companies and organizations. The move was welcomed by the Chinese side and viewed as an "olive branch" extended by Washington to Beijing.

[Biography] Gina Raimondo was born in May 1971, attended Harvard and Yale Universities, received a Juris Doctor degree, and is a Democratic moderate. Former Governor of Rhode Island. Currently serves as U.S. Secretary of Commerce.