Chinese, US commerce ministers hold talks in Washington

China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo held talks in Washington on Thursday, engaging in "frank, professional and constructive exchanges" on China-US economic and trade relations as well as issues of common concern, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in a statement on its website on Friday morning.

The Chinese side expressed deep concerns over the US' economic and trade policy toward China, its policy on semiconductors and export controls, as well as its outbound investment review policy, according to MOFCOM.

The meeting between the two ministers, on top of the recent resumption of high-level engagements between Beijing and Washington, is one of the most important meetings between the two countries since the cancellation of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to China in February after an incident surrounding a Chinese weather balloon.

China and the US agreed to set up communication channels to maintain and strengthen exchanges on specific economic and trade issues in addition to areas of cooperation, said MOFCOM in a notice.

Earlier this week, MOFCOM strongly criticized the US for engaging in so-called "trade initiative" talks with the island of Taiwan, asserting that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and the one-China principle is the prerequisite for China's Taiwan region to participate in external economic cooperation.

Prior to his departure, on Monday, Wang reassured US companies that China continues to welcome US companies to develop in China and achieve win-win results based on mutual respect and benefit at a business symposium in Shanghai. Representatives from several US companies including Johnson &Johnson, 3M, Dow, Merck, and Honeywell attended the event.