US trade secretary plans to visit Beijing despite China hacking emails

On Tuesday, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced her plans to visit China "later this summer," despite earlier reports indicating that her email account was among those breached by Chinese hackers.

Earlier this month, tech giant Microsoft revealed that hackers seeking intelligence information had breached the email accounts of some US government agencies. The Washington Post reported that both Raimondo's and the State Department's emails were among those targeted.

However, during a gathering at the Wilson Center on Tuesday, the Commerce Secretary responded when asked about US-China relations, saying, "I plan to travel later this summer. We are finalizing the dates and the plans."

She added, "We need to trade with China where we can, we need to compete with China where we must, and we need to confront China where we must, and I have a role in all three."

Raimondo was briefly interrupted by climate protesters who chanted, "We need clean air, not another billionaire," which prompted her to briefly leave the stage before returning after the protesters left.

Regarding China, Raimondo stated that there is "no national security risk" to the United States, which sells consumer products there, highlighting the significant benefits of conducting business with Beijing even as Washington remains "vigilant about threats and strategic competition."

Despite the escalating tensions between the United States and China in recent years over a range of issues, from trade to human rights, the past few weeks have witnessed top US officials making a series of high-level visits to Beijing in an effort to stabilize relations.

Prior to Raimondo's potential trip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and Climate Envoy John Kerry all visited Beijing.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's visit to Beijing also coincided with Kerry's trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFP