US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday raised what the US describes as unfair Chinese trade practices during his first full day of meetings in China with local government officials in the financial hub of Shanghai.
Blinken met with Chinese Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai Chen Jining (陳吉寧), the city’s top official, and “raised concerns about [Chinese] trade policies and non-market economic practices,” the US Department of State said in a statement.
It said he stressed that Washington seeks healthy economic competition with Beijing and “a level playing field for US workers and firms operating in China.”
Photo: AFP
“The two sides reaffirmed the importance of ties between the people of the United States and [China], including the expansion of exchanges between students, scholars and business,” it said.
China’s multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the US along with accusations of intellectual property theft and other practices seen as discriminating against US businesses in China have long been a source of friction in relations.
China, for its part, has objected strongly to US accusations of human rights abuses and Washington’s support for Taiwan.
Asked about Blinken’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said China has “always conducted economic and trade cooperation in accordance with market principles, firmly supported the multilateral trading system, and fully complied with the rules of the World Trade Organization.”
“We hope the US will also earnestly respect the principle of fair competition, abide by the WTO rules, and work with China to create favorable conditions for the sound and stable development of China-US economic and trade relations,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.
Blinken also spoke with students and business leaders before flying to Beijing.
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