Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is among the most sought-after meetings for a key corporate gathering in Washington next week, in hopes that she can help U.S. business leaders navigate the increasingly treacherous straits between America and China.
Raimondo, who returned last week from Beijing, may brief the Business Roundtable gathering, which comes at a precarious time for firms like Apple, Boeing, and Intel that are caught in the middle of rising tensions between the U.S. and China. The group lobbies on behalf of America’s biggest companies, and its members include some 230 corporate chiefs, including those of JPMorgan, Walmart, and Procter & Gamble.
One tech executive told Semafor that his company is feeling squeezed by Chinese officials, who are encouraging its executives to publicly tout their commitments to, and hard-dollar investments on, the mainland. A series of raids by Chinese authorities on western consulting firms in recent months looms in the background of such discussions.
CEOs said they’re eager to hear insights from her recent trip not shared on the secretary’s swing through the Sunday shows this week. She has touted new ways to address tensions as important outcomes of the visit — including a working group she says will be a channel for concerns of U.S. companies — while making clear the U.S. is waiting to see if China follows through on some of the more positive statements she heard in her meetings.
“They gave verbal assurances that they will treat U.S. business fairly, that they will not engage in non-market practices which hurt American workers, and my message was, ‘well, let’s see it,’” Raimondo said on CBS over the weekend. Asked if she trusted the Chinese, Raimondo replied: “Until we see action, there can be no trust.”
