Blinken takes up ‘unfair’ trade practices with Chinese officials

Shanghai, April 25

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised what the US describes as unfair Chinese trade practices during his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday with local government officials in the financial hub of Shanghai.

Blinken met with the city’s top official, Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining, and “raised concerns about (Chinese) trade policies and non-market economic practices,” the State Department said in a statement.

It said he stressed that the US seeks healthy economic competition with China and “a level playing field for US workers and firms operating in China.” “The two sides reaffirmed the importance of ties between the people of the US and (China),” it said. — AP