Commerce Sec’y Raimondo: There’s Security Benefit to Investment in China Because Economies ‘Deeply Intertwined’

On Thursday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo acknowledged that American companies in China might continue to see a hostile environment and the trend seems to be in that direction, but argued there is a national security benefit to advocating for American investment in China because “our economies are deeply intertwined. And decoupling is certainly not in America’s interest.” And “there’s benefit to Chinese kids being exposed to U.S. brands and U.S. culture and U.S. brand names.”

“NewsHour” Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent Nick Schifrin asked, “Fundamentally, doesn’t Xi Jinping’s emphasis on national security over boosting growth mean that American businesses could continue to face a hostile work environment?”

Raimondo responded, “Yes, that is certainly a risk. And, as you say, that does seem to be the way things are going. But it’s also true that there are many U.S. companies, even iconic brands, that have been operating in China for decades. And so, we hope that they will be able to continue to do that. And we hope that they can look forward to a more predictable, transparent, fair, level playing field in terms of doing business in China.”

Schifrin then asked, “But, if that is the risk, what U.S. national security benefit is there to continue to advocate for U.S. investment in China?”

Raimondo answered, “Well, our economies are deeply intertwined. And decoupling is certainly not in America’s interest. We do about $700 billion of trade with China every year, which underpins hundreds of thousands of jobs in America. So, anything that we can do in trade with China that creates jobs in America or helps U.S. businesses to grow and innovate is a good thing. So, that, I think, is clearly in our interest. There’s also the benefit of people-to-people exchange. When I was in Shanghai, I had the opportunity to visit the Disney park. And, frankly, there’s benefit to Chinese kids being exposed to U.S. brands and U.S. culture and U.S. brand names. There’s a certain soft power benefit of that, a certain exchange of culture and people-to-people exchange.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett