Raimondo told Chinese officials that email hack ‘erodes trust’

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said she spoke with Chinese officials about a recent hacking of her emails and used that as an example of something that “erodes trust” in the relationship.

“I did mention that my own emails had been hacked,” Raimondo told reporters when asked about the breach at the end of a multi-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai. “I mentioned that as an example of an action that erodes trust at a time that we are trying to stabilize the relationship and increase channels of communication.”

Raimondo this week became the fourth high-level US official to travel to the world’s second-largest economy in recent months as Washington and Beijing try to stabilize their relationship. While on the trip, she stressed the need for trade and transparency for better economic ties between the world’s top two economies. 

US-China tensions remain high. Last month Bloomberg News reported that Raimondo was among the US officials whose emails were breached in a hack of government accounts that Microsoft Corp. has said originated from China. At the time, China’s Foreign Ministry responded by saying the US “should account for its cyberattacks as soon as possible rather than spread false information and divert attention.”

The Commerce Department under Raimondo has taken the lead in implementing export curbs on advanced semiconductor technology to China, moves which Beijing has decried as undermining free trade and global supply chain stability.