Chinese Commerce Minister Asks Raimondo to Lift Chip Controls, Connected Vehicle Ban

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao urged U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo this week to lift U.S. semiconductor export restrictions against China (see 2211010042 and 2302020034) and reverse its proposed import restrictions on Chinese connected vehicles (see 2409220001), saying the two countries need to reach a clearer understanding around their national security-related trade policies.

During an Oct. 8 phone call between Wang and Raimondo, Wang “emphasized that it is particularly necessary to clarify the national security boundaries in the economic and trade field, which is conducive to maintaining the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains and creating a good policy environment for industry cooperation between the two countries,” China’s Commerce Ministry said, according to an unofficial translation.

“China urges the United States to pay attention to the specific concerns of Chinese companies, lift sanctions on Chinese companies as soon as possible, and improve the business environment for Chinese companies in the United States,” the ministry said.

China’s readout of the talks said Raimondo and Wang held “candid, in-depth and pragmatic” talks about “trade issues of mutual concern,” and that the U.S. and China have made “positive progress in expanding cooperation, managing differences, and resolving specific concerns of enterprises.”

The U.S. readout of the talks said Raimondo spoke about trade issues and “ongoing concerns from the U.S. business community about decreasing regulatory transparency” within China. She also brought up China’s “non-market policies and practices,” its “structural overcapacity” in various sectors and the American small yard, high fence strategy -- the notion of placing strict controls around a small set of advanced technologies.

“Secretary Raimondo reiterated that U.S. national security is not negotiable and re-emphasized that the U.S. government’s ‘small yard, high fence’ approach aims to safeguard U.S. national security in as targeted a manner as possible, while leaving space for healthy trade and investment,” Commerce said. The two sides agreed to continue speaking “in the coming months.”