As growth stalls for the U.S. and China, Blinken talked up economic ties in high-stakes Beijing trip

BEIJING — Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the value of the economical aspects of the bilateral U.S.-China narration during his high-stakes travel to Beijing earlier this week.

In a property league Monday that wrapped up his visit, Blinken noted grounds precocious commercialized betwixt the 2 countries, and said the U.S. is "prepared to cooperate with China" successful "macroeconomic stability," among different areas of communal interest.

Earlier that day, helium met with U.S. businesses successful China moving successful wellness care, automotive and entertainment, the State Department said. The caput of U.S. overseas argumentation gathering with businesses can't beryllium considered a fixed connected trips of this nature.

"I cognize peculiarly erstwhile Blinken was [scheduled to be] coming earlier successful February, we lobbied and we were told determination was nary clip for the concern community," Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce successful China, told CNBC.

Hart said helium didn't cognize what whitethorn person changed since then, but noted akin attraction to concern erstwhile German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Beijing successful April.

"That would suggest the politicians bash precise overmuch recognize the economical linkages and the value for governmental stableness betwixt those 2 economies," Hart said. "It's significant."

The German Chamber of Commerce successful China said that during her Beijing trip, Baerbock visited German institution Flender, a gearbox manufacturer.

Chairman Colm Rafferty and Vice Chair Roberta Lipson attended the gathering with Blinken connected behalf of AmCham China. The U.S. Department of State referred CNBC to Blinken's property league Monday erstwhile asked astir AmCham China's remark astir failing to get a gathering with the caput during his planned February trip.

Blinken met Chinese President Xi Jinping Monday arsenic portion of his travel to Beijing, the archetypal sojourn by a U.S. caput of State since 2018.

Gabriel Wildau, managing manager astatine consulting steadfast Teneo, said the astir important economical takeaway from Blinken's travel was that it happened, particularly the gathering with Xi.

"The large fearfulness for investors has been that bilateral relations are connected an unstoppable downward spiral," helium said. "Just by signaling that relations whitethorn halt getting worse, the 2 sides tin trim unit connected companies to research options for decoupling."

Blinken besides met with Director of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Foreign Affairs Office Wang Yi, and State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

U.S.-China tensions escalated nether the Trump administration. It had focused connected utilizing tariffs and sanctions successful an effort to code long-standing complaints astir the inability for U.S. companies to entree the Chinese marketplace successful the aforesaid mode arsenic section firms.

Blinken told reporters astatine Monday's property league that helium heard astir the problems for U.S. companies successful China, and the companies' tendency to turn their section business. He described doing concern successful China arsenic being successful the champion interests of the U.S.

Regulatory challenges aside, a much pressing contented for businesses is slower economical maturation successful China and the U.S. successful the past fewer months.

The U.S. Federal Reserve has aggressively hiked involvement rates successful a bid to stem ostentation domestically. China's cardinal slope this period started trimming large involvement rates to enactment growth.

Treasury Secretary Yellen is among the U.S. officials expected to sojourn Beijing successful the adjacent future.

Global macroeconomic stableness is 1 of the items the 2 countries should enactment unneurotic on, U.S. President Joe Biden said astatine his gathering with Xi successful November, according to a readout. 

On Monday, Blinken listed retired akin areas of imaginable cooperation, including clime and the economy.

He said the maturation of large economies specified arsenic China is successful the U.S. involvement and described the economical narration arsenic "vitally important."

"But astatine the aforesaid time, arsenic I said, it's not successful our involvement to supply exertion to China that could beryllium utilized against us," helium said. 

The Biden medication has utilized sanctions and export controls to restrict the quality of U.S. businesses to enactment with Chinese partners connected precocious exertion specified arsenic high-end semiconductors.

On the contented of Taiwan, Blinken besides brought up the economic angle. He noted that a situation implicit the land would apt "produce an economical situation that could affect, rather literally, the full world."

He pointed retired that 50% of commercialized instrumentality postulation goes done the Taiwan Strait each day, and that 70% of semiconductors are manufactured connected the island.

Blinken said helium made it "very clear" to the Chinese astir rising concerns surrounding Beijing's caller "provocative actions" — and the "dramatic consequences" for the satellite if a situation astir Taiwan escalated.

Beijing claims Taiwan is portion of its territory, and has maintained it seeks "peaceful reunification" with the democratically self-governed island. The U.S. recognizes Beijing arsenic the sole authorities of China but maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan.

Blinken said a cardinal U.S. knowing is that immoderate differences connected Taiwan "will beryllium resolved peacefully." He reiterated that the U.S. does not enactment Taiwan's independence.