Commerce Sec’y: China Targets Our Companies, Steals IP, But We Have to Try to Trade with Them, ‘Which Creates Jobs’

On Friday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that during her planned trip to China, we have to lay out “our really serious concerns” about China’s targeting of American tech companies and concerns “about the way they don’t respect intellectual property,” but also have to “try to find lanes of commerce where we can do commerce, which creates jobs in America.”

After Raimondo stated that she is still planning to travel to China despite a reported hack of the Commerce Department by Chinese hackers that included a breach of her email and reported hacking of U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns’ email by Chinese hackers, co-host Sara Eisen asked, “What are you hoping to accomplish on a trip?”

Raimondo responded, “Well, it’ll be the first time a commerce secretary has gone to the region in years. We need to put before them our really serious concerns about the way they’re targeting U.S. tech companies, about the way they don’t respect intellectual property, but also try to find lanes of commerce where we can do commerce, which creates jobs in America.”

Raimondo also stated that the hack of the Commerce Department is under investigation and she can’t confirm who is responsible or if her email was breached.

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