U.S. Commerce Secretary Raimondo calls on China to provide more predictability for business

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has called on China to improve the predictability of the business environment for American companies in the country.

«My message was there's a desire to do business, but we need predictability, due process and a level playing field,» Raimondo said in an exclusive interview with CNBC's Eunice Yoon on Wednesday.

«There's an appetite certainly for U.S. business to continue to do business in China,» she said, adding however that «It's an unlevel playing field for U.S. business. It's unpredictable.»

Raimondo was in China this week and met government officials in both Beijing and Shanghai. She is the first U.S. Commerce Secretary to travel to the country in five years — a period that's seen the bilateral relationship grow increasingly tense.

Foreign companies in China have long complained about market access challenges including forced tech transfers and preferential treatment for local companies, especially state-owned enterprises.

Those issues and China's longstanding trade surplus with the U.S. contributed to the Trump administration's decision to levy tariffs on China in 2018, followed by restricting certain Chinese companies' ability to buy from U.S. suppliers.

Increasingly, the U.S. government has emphasized the goal is to ensure national security.

Raimondo held firm on that point in her remarks.

«We just cannot allow sophisticated emerging technology from America to advance China's military,» she said. «I'll do whatever it takes to meet that mission.»

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security last year announced export controls to limit Chinese access to advanced semiconductors. This month, the Biden administration revealed a proposal to restrict