US officials head to Asia for trade talks

The Biden administration's top trade officials are spending the second half of August in Asia for talks in a region that still accounts for half of America's top 10 merchandise trading partners.

Trade Representative Katherine Tai was in Indonesia yesterday for meetings with the US-Asean Business Council and government officials. She's heading to India for a G20 trade and investment ministers' gathering on 24 and 25 August, which will include talks on the sidelines with European and Japanese officials.

Next week Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will travel to China, making her the fourth cabinet-level official to visit since June. The Biden administration has sought to maintain dialogue despite ongoing strains over Taiwan and export controls.

One potential deliverable for Raimondo: a working group with China's commerce ministry that would discuss export controls as well as Chinese companies added to a Commerce Department export blacklist.

Ahead of Raimondo's trip, the US offered an apparent olive branch on Monday when it lifted restrictions on 27 Chinese companies and organizations.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden issued new outbound investment restrictions, which exacerbated tensions with Beijing. And last week he sent a different kind of political message to China when he hosted the leaders of Japan and South Korea — two critical trade partners the US needs to create a regional bulwark against China.

China, whose share of US goods trade this year has dipped under 11% from a full-year peak of 16.4% in 2017, called the trilateral summit a "deliberate attempt to sow discord" between the world's second-largest economy and two of its Asian neighbours.

Nevertheless, deep divisions continue to weigh on the relationship between the world's two largest economies.

Raimondo will meet with senior Chinese officials and American business leaders in Beijing and Shanghai to discuss "issues relating to the US-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by US businesses and areas for potential cooperation," the Commerce Department said in a press release.

Raimondo will also seek to promote US business interests in China, with a top issue being Boeing Co's stalled delivery of its 737 Max planes to Chinese airlines. China banned delivery following two deadly Max crashes in 2019.