CCIEE Held Symposium Themed of Sino-US Relations, Exchanges and Cooperation Calling on U.S. to Promote Mutually Beneficial Development through Open Cooperation

By Yang Xiaolin, Reporter of Economic Daily

On July 20, 2023, the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) held the 165th session of the "Monthly Economic Talk" with the theme of " Sino-US Relations, Exchanges and Cooperation." The participants discussed the trend of Sino-US relations under the current situation and the direction of futurecooperation.

"The Bali meeting between the two heads of state drew a bottom line for the two sides to prevent miscalculation and conflict, pointed out the direction for future development, and discussed the possibility of cooperation." Zhang Xiaoqiang, Executive Vice Chairman and Director of Board of Executives of CCIEE, said that the United States has a serious "action deficit" in the implementation of the consensus of the head of state, including the "small yards with high fences" policy in the high-tech field, and on the basis of the "U.S. CHIPS and Science Act of 2022", it reached relevant agreements with Japan and the Netherlands to expand export control of semiconductor technology, and further decouple with China in the high-tech industry. Since the beginning of this year, a number of Chinese entities have been included in the so-called "entity list" of export control.

China's imports and exports to the United States totaled 2.25 trillion yuan in the first half of this year, down 8.4 percent year-on-year, according to the General Administration of Customs. "The US has been raising interest rates in response to high inflation, which has led to a downturn in the willingness of domestic enterprises and people to consume and invest. Coupled with the negative impact of the U.S. decoupling' policy, Sino-US economic and trade relations have encountered certain difficulties." Zhang Xiaoqiang said.

How to Stop the Decline and Stabilize Sino-US Economy and Trade, Zhang Xiaoqiang stated that the top priority is for the United States to worl together with Chin to cancel high tariff measures that have violated WTO regulations, and truly implement the consensus reached during the Bali meeting between the two heads of state; Both sides should jointly seek the maximum common ground in various fields such as macroeconomic policy coordination, digital economy, addressing climate change, green and low-carbon development, maintaining supply chain industry chain stability, healthcare, and promote complementary and mutually beneficial cooperation.

The rapid development of the global digital economy has provided a new historical opportunity for economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States. Chen Wenling, Chief Economist and Deputy Director of Board of Executives of CCIEE, stated that the United States is the birthplace of global digital information, while China is a rising star with the world's largest digital economy with huge market advantages, and accumulating rich experience and application scenarios in practice. In the future, China and the United States should accelerate cooperation in the digital field and jointly participate in leading international rulemaking in the field of the digital economy. The positive effects generated will not only benefit the enterprises and people of both countries, but also provide huge momentum for promoting global economic recovery and development.

"On the contrary, a confrontation between the two countries in the field of digital economy will have a huge negative effect." Chen Wenling said that the semiconductor industry has the characteristics of vertical, complex and multi-level industrial division of labor, even if a basic product or raw material in the industrial chain is affected by sanctions, it will likely disturb the stability of the whole industrial chain.

What is the potential for cooperation between China and the United States in the field of high-tech? Zhang Xiaoqiang responded to reporters' questions and stated that the current decoupling measures taken by the United States against China in the high-tech field are harmful to others rather than self-interest. Taking the semiconductor industry as an example, China is one of the world's largest semiconductor markets, and multiple American chip giants have a huge market share in China. Cutting off the Chinese market directly harms the interests of American companies. And the United States should also recognize that it cannot maintain a leading position in numerous strategic emerging industries, such as China's global leading technological role in 5G technology, ultra-high voltage transmission and transformation, new energy vehicles, wind power generation, photovoltaic power generation and other fields. Both sides have significant cooperation space in many high-tech fields, the United States should maintain an open cooperation attitude and promote mutually beneficial development, "said Zhang Xiaoqiang.

Recently, China and the United States once again held dialogue on climate change. What new developments the two sides have in the field of joint response to climate change and its impact on Sino-US relations have also become the focus of discussion at the meeting.

"China and the United States have a long history of cooperation on jointly addressing climate change and working together to reach, sign and bring the Paris Agreement into force." Su Wei, former deputy Secretary-General of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that climate change is an important issue in bilateral relations between major countries, involving economic and social development and green and low-carbon transformation of countries, as an important channel for China and the United States to maintain exchanges and dialogue, strengthening cooperation on the issue of climate change can add positive factors to the development of Sino-US relations and establish a buffer zone.

Su Wei stated that currently, China and the United States face difficulties and challenges in addressing the issue of climate change, including differences in policy demands between the two sides, and the negative impact of the US policy of decoupling . However, the potential for cooperation between China and the United States in this field is enormous. Both sides should adhere to the consensus reached by the heads of state, abide by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, and continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation in the field of climate change,especially the research and application of green and low-carbon transformation technologies. Both sides should maximize the joint efforts to cope with climate change, contribute to the global response to climate change, and also help Sino-US relations return to a healthy and stable development track at an early date.