Gina Raimondo

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has urged lawmakers, Silicon Valley and U.S. allies to stop China from getting semiconductors and cutting-edge technologies key to national security.

Speaking at an annual national defense forum in Simi Valley, California, Raimondo called Beijing "the biggest threat we've ever had" and stressed "China is not our friend."

Four years after his last trip to China in November 2019, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is visiting again. A lot has changed in the interim. The Covid-19 pandemic dramatically influenced relations between the West and China. Both sides are now in a delicate process of reducing dependencies - to the extent this is feasible in a globalized world.

Global stock markets and Wall Street futures advanced yesterday after the downturn in China's service industries eased and news reports said the Biden administration might lift U.S. tariffs on some Chinese imports.

London and Frankfurt opened higher. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong advanced. Oil prices gained to stay close to $120 per barrel.

The global shortage of critical semiconductors is likely to last at least through next year and perhaps longer, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo warned.

The European Union and the United States will this week embark on a tricky effort to deepen ties on tech regulation, but with France resisting the project in the wake of a row with Washington over a submarine deal.

U.S. administration officials have announced that they will strengthen the resistance and intensify the pressure on cyber attackers, whether it is about companies or enemies from abroad.
They also warned that U.S. President Joseph Biden was considering all options, including a military response.