U.S. Commerce Secretary: Must Take More Actions To Confront Communist China

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on November 30th that the United States must do more to counter Communist China, although the world’s two largest economies should not be isolated from each other, according to reports. According to excerpts released by her office, Raimondo believes the U.S. must improve its export control system, bolster its investment review system, enhance supply chain resiliency, and develop innovative solutions to counter Communist China’s economic coercion and human rights abuses.

In October, the U.S. Department of Commerce unveiled a comprehensive set of export controls, including measures to severely restrict Communist China’s access to U.S. chip manufacturing technology, expanding the scope to slow its technological and military advances, which Raimondo said will help ensure U.S. competitiveness and national security in the future.

The U.S. has long had a reactive export control strategy that focused solely on preventing Communist China from expanding its technological capabilities after acquiring U.S. intellectual property. But now the United States is exploring new ways to protect itself and other countries from Communist China’s economic coercion.

Raimondo also cited U.S. support for Lithuania to allow Taiwan to open an embassy in the country and to fend off Communist China’s diplomatic pressure. In response to the intense confrontations that have occurred between the two countries in recent years in different areas, Raimondo said the U.S. will not seek to decouple itself from Communist China, nor will it allow Beijing to acquire sophisticated technological and military capabilities that pose threats to U.S. national security.