US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo yesterday met with China’s premier, calling for Beijing and Washington to work together to solve issues of global concern.
Raimondo’s trip to China is the latest by a senior US official as Washington seeks to defuse tensions with the world’s second-largest economy.
Yesterday she held another round of talks with Chinese officials, meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強) to stress the importance of open communication between the two powers.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Pointing to areas of “global concern” such as climate change, artificial intelligence and fentanyl addiction, she told Li that Washington wants to “work with you as two global powers to do what is right for all of humanity.”
“The world is expecting us to step up together to solve these problems,” she said.
Raimondo also reiterated the US position that it is not seeking to decouple its economy from China’s.
“We seek to maintain our US$700 billion commercial relationship with China, and we hope that that relationship can provide stability for the overall relationship,” she said.
Earlier yesterday, Raimondo met Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), describing the US-China commercial relationship as “one of the most consequential” in the world.
“Managing that relationship responsibly is critical to both of our nations and indeed to the whole world,” she said during a part of the meeting open to journalists.
She said that the US would “never compromise in protecting our national security,” but added that Washington did not seek “to hold China’s economy back.”
He, in response, said Beijing was willing to work on “new, positive efforts to keep economic consensus and step up cooperation.”
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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