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The United States has spent the past five years pushing to reduce its reliance on China for computer chips, solar panels and various consumer imports amid growing concern over Beijing’s security threats, human rights record and dominance of critical industries. But even as policymakers and corporate executives look for ways to cut ties with China, a growing body of evidence suggests that the world’s largest economies remain deeply intertwined as Chinese products make their way to America through other countries. New and forthcoming economic papers call into question whether the United States has actually lessened its reliance on China — and what a recent reshuffling of trade relationships means for the global economy and American consumers. Changes to global manufacturing and supply chains are still unfolding, as both punishing tariffs imposed by the administration of former President Donald J. Trump and tougher restrictions on the sale of technology to China imposed by the Biden administration play out. The key architect of the latest restrictions — Gina Raimondo, the commerce secretary — is meeting with top Chinese officials in Beijing and Shanghai this week, a visit that underscores the challenge facing the United States as it seeks to reduce how much it depends on China at a moment when the countries’ economies share so many ties.

Persons: Donald J, Biden, — Gina Raimondo, — Organizations: Trump Locations: States, China, America, United States, Beijing, Shanghai

He has broad oversight of economic policy, and has long been closely associated with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader. Seated in a red-carpeted reception room on the second floor of the Great Hall, Mr. He said at the start of their meeting that he was ready to work with Ms. Raimondo, and hoped the United States would adopt rational and practical policies. “The U.S.-China commercial relationship is one of the most globally consequential, and managing that relationship responsibly is critical to both our nations and indeed to the whole world,” Ms. Raimondo said. “And while we will never of course compromise in protecting our national security, I want to be clear that we do not seek to decouple or to hold China’s economy back.”

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Xi Jinping, Ms, Raimondo, Biden, ” Organizations: of Locations: United States, Beijing, U.S, China

High-ranking United States and Chinese officials held a series of economic policy meetings on Tuesday in Beijing, in the latest sign that both countries are trying to stop the long deterioration in their relationship and restore communications. Seated in a red-carpeted reception room on the second floor of the Great Hall, Mr. She responded that while the United States would not compromise on issues of national security, it also would not try to disconnect from China or hold back China’s economic development. He has broad oversight of economic policy as one of four vice premiers, and has also been closely associated with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, since 1985. That was when the two men began collaborating on economic development as officials in Xiamen, a city in Fujian Province on the southeastern coast of China.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Ms, Raimondo, Xi Jinping Organizations: of Locations: United States, Beijing, U.S, China, Xiamen, Fujian Province

Her visit, which will include meetings with business leaders and government officials, including her Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, will be closely watched as she looks for common ground on trade, even as she seeks to curtail it. Here is what Ms. Raimondo expects to focus on during her trip, according to The Times’s Ana Swanson, Alan Rappeport and Keith Bradsher. Ms. Raimondo is likely to defend the escalating tech war, which she will argue is meant to protect U.S. national security. (Ms. Raimondo said on Monday that she would neither compromise nor negotiate on that point.) The White House this month announced plans to bar private equity and venture capital firms from making investments in China in quantum computing and advanced semiconductors.

Persons: Raimondo, Gina Raimondo, Wang Wentao, Ana Swanson, Alan Rappeport, Keith Bradsher, Ms Organizations: China, Biden administration’s, U.S Locations: Beijing, China

The United States and China on Monday agreed to hold regular conversations about commercial issues and restrictions on access to advanced technology, the latest step this summer toward reducing tensions between the world’s two largest economies. The announcement came during a visit to Beijing by Gina Raimondo, the U.S. commerce secretary, who is meeting with senior Chinese officials in Beijing and Shanghai this week. The agreement to hold regular discussions is the latest move toward rebuilding frayed links between the two countries, a process that had already begun during three trips in the past 10 weeks by senior American officials: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen and John Kerry, the president’s climate envoy. “I think it’s a very good sign that we agreed to concrete dialogue, and I would say, more than just kind of nebulous commitments to continue to talk, this is an official channel,” Ms. Raimondo said in an interview after four hours of negotiations with China’s commerce minister, Wang Wentao.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Antony J, Blinken, Janet L, Yellen, John Kerry, “, Ms, Raimondo, Wang Wentao Locations: States, China, Beijing, U.S, Shanghai

Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, who arrived in Beijing on Sunday, is the latest Biden administration emissary seeking to stabilize ties between the world’s two largest economies. The fourth senior U.S. official to travel to China in less than three months, Ms. Raimondo is taking her trip at a critical juncture. Relations between the countries are strained, partly because the United States has clamped down on China’s access to technology that could aid its military. Ms. Raimondo’s agenda is varied, including economic diplomacy, getting to know China’s new economic team and defending the interests of American companies and their employees. Ms. Raimondo’s department oversees the export controls and other restrictions that the Biden administration has put in place, many of which have angered Chinese officials and prompted retaliation.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Biden, Raimondo Organizations: U.S Locations: Beijing, China, United States, U.S

☆ Raimondo Heads to China to Both Promote Trade, and Restrict It
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Ana Swanson | More About Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, is heading to China on Saturday with two seemingly contradictory responsibilities: a mandate to strengthen U.S. business relations with Beijing while also imposing some of the toughest Chinese trade restrictions in years. The head of the Commerce Department is traditionally the government’s biggest champion for the business community both at home and abroad, promoting the kind of extensive ties U.S. firms have with China, the world’s second-largest economy. But U.S.-China relations have turned chillier as China has become more aggressive in flexing its economic and military might. While China remains an important economic partner, American officials have increasingly viewed the country as a security threat and have imposed a raft of new restrictions aimed at crippling Beijing’s access to technology that could be used to strengthen the Chinese military or security services. The bulk of those restrictions — which have stoked anger and irritation from the Chinese government — have been imposed by Ms. Raimondo’s agency.

Persons: Gina Raimondo Organizations: Commerce Department, U.S Locations: China, Beijing

☆ Commerce Secretary to Visit China Next Week in Bid to Steady Ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Ana Swanson | More About Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, will travel to Beijing and Shanghai for a series of meetings next week, becoming the latest Biden official to visit China as the United States seeks to stabilize the relationship between the countries. Ms. Raimondo will meet with senior Chinese officials and American business leaders between Aug. 27 and Aug. 30, the Department of Commerce said in an announcement Tuesday. The department said that Ms. Raimondo was looking forward to “constructive discussions on issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses, and areas for potential cooperation.”The visit comes during a period of tensions between Washington and Beijing, and amid extreme volatility in the Chinese economy, which is struggling with stalling growth, a real estate crisis and lackluster consumer confidence. The Biden administration has dispatched a series of officials to China in recent months in an attempt to restore some stability to the bilateral relationship, after the flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the United States early this year left ties badly frayed.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, Raimondo, Ms, Biden Organizations: Biden, Department of Commerce, U.S . Locations: Beijing, Shanghai, China, United, U.S, Washington, United States

First Solar, a leading U.S. solar panel manufacturer, said on Tuesday that an audit had found that migrant workers in its operations in Malaysia were victims of forced labor. The independent audit, which was included in a corporate sustainability report, found that four subcontractors in Malaysia had charged the workers recruitment fees in their home countries and withheld their pay and passports. U.S. officials and human rights activists have become increasingly concerned about the use of forced labor in the manufacture of solar panels, most of which takes place in Asia. Global supply chains for solar panels have for years relied on China, in particular for polysilicon, a crucial component in most solar panels made around the world. But a recent ban on products from Xinjiang, a region where the U.S. government and United Nations accuse the Chinese government of committing human rights violations, including forced labor, has led to a shift away from China.

Organizations: United Nations Locations: U.S, Malaysia, Asia, Global, China, Xinjiang

Many opponents of renewable energy, she added, “are worried about the impacts to their very way of life.”Roadside opposition to renewable energy projects near Baldwin City, Kan. “We see offshore wind as a critical technology,” said Dan Burgess, the director of the Maine Governor’s Energy Office. Across the country, clean energy projects of all types are tied up in lengthy permitting processes. By then, India had not completed any offshore wind projects. Since 2000, the United States has barely built any major transmission lines that connect different regions of the country.

Persons: Scott Dickerson, ”, Biden, Alison Bates, “, Columbia University’s, Dan Burgess, Habib Dagher, Janet Mills, Gregory Wetstone, Mack, James Gillway, SunZia, ” Hunter Armistead, Broussard, There’s, Vaughan Woodruff, Tucker Carlson, Teslas, ” Ali Zaidi, Dagher, Rolf Olsen, who’s Organizations: University of Maine, Sears, Officials, Federal, International Energy Agency, Colby College, White, Columbia, Climate, The University of, Maine Governor’s Energy, Environmental, University of Maine’s, Composites Center, Gov, American Clean Power Association, American Council, Renewable Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps of Engineers, . Clean, Union United, China India European Union United States, China European Union United, China India United States European, China United States European Union, China United States European Union India, Energy, The New York Times, United, Pattern Energy, New York State Energy Research, Development Authority, Toyota Prius Locations: Penobscot Bay, Maine, , Maine, United States, Europe, China, Australia, India, Los Angeles, Ohio, Jersey Shore, Waterville , Maine, Baldwin City, Kan, Massachusetts, Ukraine, Gulf, Searsport , Maine, Searsport, Bangor, Mack, West, Union United States, U.S, China United States European Union India, Great, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Riesel , Texas, Energy, San Bernardino County, In Kansas, Atlantic City, N.J, New York, Manhattan, Sears

As the rate of food price inflation eases in the United States and Europe, analysts are warning of a new era of volatility in global food prices, ushered in by a series of threats coming together in unprecedented ways. A combination of calamities — extreme weather, Russia’s targeting of grain supplies in Ukraine and some countries’ growing willingness to erect protectionist barriers to food trade — has left food supplies more vulnerable and less prepared to absorb any one disruption, analysts say. “This is the new normal now, with more volatility and unpredictability, whether that’s in commodity prices or food prices,” said Dennis Voznesenski, a commodities analyst at Rabobank in Sydney, Australia. Even without major disruptions, food prices can be variable, and many factors play into the price of a bushel of wheat or loaf of bread.

Persons: —, ”, Dennis Voznesenski Organizations: Rabobank Locations: United States, Europe, Ukraine, Sydney, Australia

☆ Biden to Restrict Investments in China, Citing National Security Threats
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Ana Swanson | More About Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration plans on Wednesday to issue new restrictions on American investments in certain advanced industries in China, according to people familiar with the deliberations, a move that supporters have described as necessary to protect national security but that will undoubtedly rankle Beijing. The measure would be one of the first significant steps the United States has taken in its economic clash with China to clamp down on financial flows. It could set the stage for more restrictions on investments between the two countries in the years to come. The restrictions would bar private equity and venture capital firms from making investments in certain high-tech sectors, like quantum computing, artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductors, the people said, in a bid to stop the transfer of American dollars and expertise to China. It would also require firms making investments in a broader range of Chinese industries to report that activity, giving the government better visibility into financial exchanges between the United States and China.

Organizations: Biden Locations: China, Beijing, States, United States

☆ Schumer Wields Political Heft in Bid for New York Chips Funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Ana Swanson | More About Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

If Mr. Schumer gets his way, a substantial part of that funding will flow to New York. In his encounters with chip executives, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and President Biden himself, Mr. Schumer has openly and aggressively drawn on his political capital as majority leader to try to channel investment to his home state. Mr. Schumer, a longtime China critic, primarily views the investments as critical to reducing America’s reliance on Beijing for a technology that powers everything from cars and dishwashers to missiles and fighter jets. “I cared about upstate and I cared about competition with China,” Mr. Schumer said in an interview in Albany in June. But Mr. Schumer is capitalizing on his position at an opportune moment, as the United States prepares to invest nearly $53 billion in the sector, including $11 billion for chip research and $39 billion in manufacturing grants.

Persons: Schumer, Gina Raimondo, Biden, “, ” Mr Locations: New York, China, Beijing, Asia, U.S, Albany, United States

Indiana now wants to catch up to other places that have landed big chip manufacturing plants. The push is supported by Senator Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, who was a co-author on the CHIPS Act and has been a leading voice on increasing funds for tech hubs. Companies and universities in Indiana have applied for multiple CHIPS Act grants, with the aim of winning awards not only for chip manufacturing but also for research and development. Those regions succeeded because of their strong academic research universities, big anchor companies, skilled workers and investors. He added that the federal government’s plan to initially put $500 million into tech hubs was too small and estimated it would take $100 billion in government aid to create 10 sustainable tech hubs.

Persons: Todd Young, Biden, ”, Mark Muro Organizations: Republican, Companies, Biden, Indiana, Indiana Chamber of Commerce, Brookings Institution Locations: Indiana, Silicon Valley, Boston

☆ Solar Power’s China Problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( David Gelles | More About David Gelles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Economies of scale and government subsidies, especially in China, have helped to drive down solar energy prices by 85 percent since 2010, supercharging a global boom in new hookups. This year, for the first time, investors are expected to put more money into solar than oil. But the solar energy supply chain is still dominated by China, an authoritarian regime engaged in a trade war with the U.S. And many of the industry’s key materials and components are made with forced labor from the Xinjiang region in western China. In recent years, other countries, led by the U.S., have finally gotten serious about trying to challenge China’s dominance. The report, produced by human rights and solar industry experts, found that the vast majority of solar panels still have significant exposure to the Xinjiang region, where the U.S. and the U.N. say the Chinese government is committing numerous human rights violations.

Persons: It’s, Ana Swanson, Ivan Penn Organizations: U.S Locations: China, Xinjiang, U.S

The region produces roughly a third of both the world’s polysilicon and its metallurgical-grade silicon, the material from which polysilicon is made. As a result, many firms have promised to scrutinize their supply chains, and several have set up factories in the United States or Southeast Asia to supply Western markets. The Solar Energy Industries Association, the industry’s biggest trade association, has been calling on companies to shift their supply chains and cut ties with Xinjiang. More than 340 companies have signed a pledge to keep their supply chains free of forced labor. Some Chinese companies, like LONGi Solar and JA Solar, have clear ties to suppliers operating in Xinjiang, the report said.

Persons: China —, Murphy Organizations: Solar Energy Industries Association Locations: Xinjiang, United States, Southeast Asia, China, Europe

A partnership between Ford Motor and a major Chinese battery maker is facing scrutiny by Republican lawmakers, who say it could make an American automaker reliant on a company with links to forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. In a letter sent to Ford on Thursday, the chairs of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party and the House Ways and Means Committee demanded more information about the partnership, including what they said was a plan by Ford to employ several hundred workers from China at a new battery factory in Michigan. Ford announced in February that it planned to set up the $3.5 billion factory using technology from Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd., known as CATL, the world’s largest maker of batteries for electric vehicles. CATL produces about a third of electric vehicle batteries globally and supplies General Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Tesla and other major automakers. Ford has defended the partnership, saying it will help diversify Ford’s supply chain and allow a battery that is less expensive and more durable than current alternatives to be made in the United States for the first time, rather than imported.

Persons: Ford Organizations: Ford Motor, Republican, Ford, Chinese Communist Party, Amperex Technology Ltd, Motors, Volkswagen, BMW, Tesla Locations: American, China’s Xinjiang, China, Michigan, United States

☆ House Committee Targets U.C. Berkeley Program for China Ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Ana Swanson | More About Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It also said Berkeley faculty serving at the institute had received funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and other U.S. funding for the development of military applications, raising concerns about Chinese access to those experts. In October, the United States set significant limits on the type of advanced semiconductor technology that could be shared with Chinese entities, saying the activity posed a national security threat. “Berkeley’s P.R.C.-backed collaboration with Tsinghua University raises many red flags,” the letter said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. In a statement to The New York Times, U.C. Berkeley said it took concerns about national security “very seriously" and was committed to comprehensive compliance with laws governing international academic engagement.

Persons: Berkeley’s, Mike Gallagher, Virginia Foxx, Berkeley Organizations: Berkeley, Defense, Research Projects Agency, Tsinghua, Berkeley Shenzhen Institute, Tsinghua University, Wisconsin Republican, Republican, New York Times Locations: Shenzhen, China, United States, People’s Republic of China, Wisconsin, North Carolina, U.C

“They’re going to have concerns about our investment policies toward China,” said Mark Sobel, a former longtime Treasury Department official who is now the U.S. chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. Tensions have flared over the flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon over the United States, tougher restrictions on technology from Washington, Beijing’s partnership with Moscow during the war in Ukraine and China’s continued threatening of Taiwan. But new investment restrictions from the United States could escalate the tit-for-tat measures that the two countries have been deploying just as they are trying to set a “floor” under their relationship. But the Biden administration appears to have delayed announcing them given the tumultuous relationship with China. Once the restrictions are proposed, the private sector will have time to comment on the limits, which could shape how they are put in place.

Persons: “, ”, Mark Sobel, China’s, Biden, Yellen, Antony J, Blinken, John Kerry, Biden’s Organizations: longtime Treasury Department, Monetary, Financial, Moscow, U.S Locations: China, U.S, United States, Washington, Ukraine, Taiwan, Beijing

☆ Chips Make It Tough for the U.S. to Quit China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Ana Swanson | More About Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In May, Micron Technologies, the Idaho chipmaker, suffered a serious blow as part of the U.S.-China technology war. The Chinese government barred companies that handle crucial information from buying Micron’s chips, saying the company had failed a cybersecurity review. “This investment project demonstrates Micron’s unwavering commitment to its China business and team,” an announcement posted on the company’s Chinese social media account said. Global semiconductor companies are finding themselves in an extremely tricky position as they try to straddle a growing rift between the United States and China. The semiconductor industry has become ground zero for the technology rivalry between Washington and Beijing, with new restrictions and punitive measures imposed by both sides.

Persons: ” Organizations: Micron Technologies, U.S ., Micron, Global Locations: Idaho, U.S, China, Xian, United States, Washington, Beijing

☆ The Contentious U.S.-China Relationship, by the Numbers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Ana Swanson | More About Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

The U.S.-China Business Council estimated that U.S. exports to China supported nearly 1.1 million jobs in the United States in 2021. Also in the survey, 46 percent of American companies thought that U.S.-China relations would deteriorate in 2023, while only 13 percent thought they would improve. Personal and cultural connectionsThe United States is home to nearly 2.4 million Chinese immigrants, making it the top destination for Chinese immigrants worldwide. China had more than 80,000 movie screens by late 2021, compared with roughly 39,000 in the United States. Air carriers are running only 24 flights a week between the United States and China, compared with about 350 before the pandemic.

Persons: Janet L, Yellen, Germany —, China’s, Long, ByteDance, Maheshwari, Nicole Sperling Organizations: Economic, International Monetary Fund, Initiative, China . Trade, China Business Council, United, Commerce Department, Financial, American Chamber of Commerce, Columbia University Locations: China, United States, Beijing, U.S, Canada, Mexico . U.S, The U.S, Japan, Britain, Germany, China’s, American, Comscore

The last time a U.S. Treasury secretary visited China, Washington and Beijing were locked in a trade war, the Trump administration was preparing to label China a currency manipulator, and fraying relations between the two countries were roiling global markets. Treasury Department officials have downplayed expectations for major breakthroughs on Ms. Yellen’s four-day trip, which begins when she arrives in Beijing on Thursday. They suggest instead that her meetings with senior Chinese officials are intended to improve communication between the world’s two largest economies. But tensions between United States and China remain high, and conversations between Ms. Yellen and her counterparts are likely to be difficult. She met in Washington with Xie Feng, China’s ambassador, on Monday, and the two officials had a “frank and productive discussion,” according the Treasury.

Persons: Trump, Janet L, Yellen, Donald J, Biden, Yellen’s, Xie Feng Organizations: Treasury, Biden, Treasury Department Locations: U.S, China, Washington, Beijing, United States

☆ Opposition Grows to U.S. Imports of Refined Russian Oil
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Ana Swanson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ukrainian officials and human rights groups are asking the United States to close what they describe as a loophole that allows Russian crude oil that has been refined in other countries to be shipped to the United States. The Biden administration issued a ban last March on purchasing crude oil and other petroleum products directly from Russia, immediately following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. The European Union, which was heavily dependent on Russia for supplies of energy, banned Russian crude in December and petroleum products the following February. But both the United States and the European Union continue to purchase Russian oil that has been refined in other countries into gasoline, fuel oil and other products. This activity is legal: Once Russian crude oil has been “substantially transformed” by being refined in another country, it legally ceases to be Russian.

Persons: Biden Organizations: European Union, United Arab Locations: United States, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, China, India, Europe, Iran, Venezuela

The Biden administration is weighing additional curbs on China’s ability to access critical technology, including restricting the sale of high-end chips used to power artificial intelligence, according to five people familiar with the deliberations. The curbs would clamp down on the sales to China of advanced chips made by companies like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, which are needed for the data centers that power artificial intelligence. Biden officials have said that China’s artificial intelligence capabilities could pose a national security threat to the United States by enhancing Beijing’s military and security apparatus. in guiding weapons, carrying out cyber warfare and powering facial recognition systems used to track dissidents and minorities. But such curbs would be a blow to semiconductor manufacturers, including those in the United States, who still generate much of their revenue in China.

Persons: Biden Organizations: Nvidia, Devices Locations: China, United States

☆ Chinese Firm Sent Large Shipments of Gunpowder to Russian Munitions Factory
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Ana Swanson | John Ismay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The powder had been shipped by Poly Technologies, a state-owned Chinese company on which the United States had previously imposed sanctions for its global sales of missile technology and providing support to Iran. Its destination was Barnaul Cartridge Plant, an ammunition factory in central Russia with a history of supplying the Russian government. These previously unreported shipments, which were identified by Import Genius, a U.S.-based trade data aggregator, raise new questions about the role China has played in supporting Russia as it fights to capture Ukrainian territory. U.S. officials have expressed concerns that China could funnel products to Russia that would help in its war effort — what is known as “lethal aid” — though they have not said outright that China has made such shipments. Speaking from Beijing on Monday, Antony J. Blinken, the U.S. secretary of state, said China had assured the United States that it was not providing lethal assistance to Russia for use in Ukraine, and that the U.S. government had “not seen anything right now to contradict that.”

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, “, ” Organizations: Poly Technologies Locations: China, Russia, Zabaykalsk, United States, Iran, U.S, Beijing, Ukraine

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