(Beijing) US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit China from August 27 to 30, Beijing and Washington announced on Tuesday, the two world powers trying for months to ease bilateral tensions.

This visit by Ms. Raimondo is thus the last of senior American officials in the Asian country since the beginning of 2023.

“Secretary Raimondo looks forward to constructive discussions on the U.S.-China trade relationship, challenges facing U.S. businesses, and areas of potential cooperation,” the U.S. Department of Commerce said.

Gina Raimondo will travel to Beijing and Shanghai, he said.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has also confirmed his attendance.

His visit will build on an agreement reached between Chinese Presidents Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia last year “to deepen communication” between the two countries “on a range of issues”, the department said. American of Commerce.

Bilateral relations remain at loggerheads on many topics, from trade in Taiwan to the South China Sea.

Among the main disagreements are the trade restrictions imposed by the United States on the export of certain American products to China.

Washington considers them crucial to preserve its national security. But Beijing believes that they are primarily aimed at curbing China’s economic rise and development.

The United States also announced in August that it would restrict the possibility for American companies to freely invest in China in the most advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) or the quantum computer.

Again taken in the name of “American national security”, this decision was strongly criticized by Beijing.

During a visit to Beijing last month, Janet Yellen, the US Secretary of State for the Treasury, tried to reassure the Chinese authorities about these multiple US restrictions.

In particular, she had promised that any new measures would be implemented in a transparent manner.

Ms. Yellen had also advocated “healthy competition” between China and the United States and pleaded for better cooperation in the face of the threat posed by climate change.

US climate envoy John Kerry visited China in July.

The head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, had meanwhile visited Beijing the previous month, the highest level visit by a US official since 2018.

He had notably met Chinese President Xi Jinping and assured that progress had been made on a number of points of disagreement.

Neither Ms. Yellen’s nor Mr. Blinken’s visit, however, led to significant progress.

And a summit last week near Washington between Joe Biden and Chinese and Japanese leaders, intended in particular to counter Beijing, was met with displeasure by China.

The US President recently called the second world power a “time bomb” in reference to its economic and demographic situation. But he nevertheless assured that he hoped to meet Xi Jinping “this fall. »

The two leaders could also meet next month in New Delhi, on the sidelines of a summit of the group of 20 major economies (G20).