Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said US companies tell her that China is becoming increasingly “uninvestible” because of growing risks to doing business in the world’s second-biggest economy.
(Bloomberg) — Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said US companies tell her that China is becoming increasingly “uninvestible” because of growing risks to doing business in the world’s second-biggest economy.
Raimondo, on a visit to China this week, said that US firms face new challenges such as fines and ambiguity around a new anti-espionage law, as well as continuing issues including intellectual-property theft and competition with subsidized Chinese firms.
“Increasingly I hear from businesses, China is uninvestible because it’s become too risky,” Raimondo told reporters while traveling from Beijing to Shanghai on a high-speed train.
“There are the traditional concerns that they’ve become accustomed to dealing with,” she said. “And then there’s a whole new set of concerns, the sum total of which is making China feel too risky for them to invest.”
The US raised a number of issues with the Chinese, including specific problems with Intel Corp., Micron Technology Inc. and Boeing Co., as well as other commercial issues, Raimondo said. Meanwhile, China asked that the US lower tariffs, cut export controls and scrap plans to limit some forms of outbound investment, Raimondo said, emphasizing that she refused these requests.
Raimondo is the latest high-level official from the Biden administration to travel to China in recent months as part of an effort by the White House to ease tensions between the two powers that have become increasingly strained over the last year.
As the main promoter of US industries and exports, Raimondo is seeking to boost trade and business while taking a hard line on security issues. On Monday, the two sides agreed to more dialogue on commercial issues and US export controls, which have angered Beijing.
“The very fact that now we would have informal communication, be able to pick up the phone and talk, is a step forward,” Raimondo said. “It doesn’t mean when we talk, I’m going to compromise or concede. It means we have a shot at reducing miscalculation and sharing information.”
(Updates with quote, details from third paragraph.)
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