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A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. did not respond to an inquiry about the invitation and whether Tang plans to travel to Seattle for the gathering.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in attendance.
The ministerial on food security is part of the buildup to November’s APEC summit, which the United States is hosting in San Francisco and is expected to draw leaders from APEC’s 22 member countries. Among them are China and Russia, as well as Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and other countries throughout Asia and the Western Hemisphere.
In addition to the Aug. 3 event, there are a number of other ministerial level meetings in the run-up to the summit that top Chinese officials could attend. Those include an Aug. 6 session focused on health concerns led by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and an Aug. 15 gathering led by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm
Russia’s decision to abandon the Black Sea deal granting safe passage to ships exporting Ukrainian grain has shaken global grain markets, impacting all the major APEC member countries. In the wake of that decision, Moscow began bombing Ukraine’s most prominent Black Sea port in Odesa, and threatened to target foreign cargo ships traveling to Ukraine’s ports, as well. But the Kremlin hasn’t ruled out rejoining the deal if it secures more concessions, including an agreement to readmit Russia’s government-run agricultural bank to the global financial payments system known as SWIFT.
Moscow has also demanded restarting a key Russian ammonia pipeline in Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian officials strongly oppose the move. Some on Capitol Hill have also expressed concerns that such a move would provide Moscow with a new cash infusion. U.N. and Turkish officials have been working to try to revive the deal. At the same time, U.S. and Western officials are scrambling to find new ways to increase grain and other key commodity exports from Ukraine, including via already expanded overland routes, according to one U.S. official, who was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
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