U.S.-China CEO’s Dialogue held in Beijing

On September 10-11, 2019, the U.S.-China CEO’s Dialogue was jointly hosted by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges(CCIEE) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce(USCC) in Beijing under the theme of “China, the United States and the global economy.” Chinese and US representatives conducted in-depth exchanges on topics such as “Trade and Investment Negotiation”, “Industry Chain: Process, Outlook and Possible Impacts”, “Innovation and Prospects for Science and Technology Cooperation: Current Industrial Development and Future”. Zeng Peiyan, Chairman of CCIEE, Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, and more than 20 Chinese and American business leaders, former senior government officials, experts and scholars attended the dialogue.

The Chinese representatives pointed out that over the past year or so, the US-China economic and trade consultation has achieved positive progress and experienced twists and turns. The United States went its own way, exerted enormous pressure on China, and constantly escalated the US-China trade frictions. Moreover, the United States has even used state power to suppress Chinese companies. Recently, it ignored the fact and listed China as a “currency manipulator”, requiring US companies to withdraw from China and forcing the US-China economy to decouple.

The Chinese representatives emphasized that the trade war is not conducive to China, the United States, and the rest of the world. Adding tariffs did not meet the expectations of the US government, but hurt the US economy. The US trade deficit has not decreased and the economic growth rate has fallen sharply, and the burden on enterprises and the public has continued to increase. The escalating US-China trade frictions have become the biggest uncertainty in the development of the world economy.

The Chinese delegates said that China will continue to promote supply-side structural reforms, implement proactive fiscal policies and prudent monetary policies, reduce corporate burdens through tax cuts and fees reduction, deepen market-oriented reforms, and expand high-level opening up. China’s economy has remained stable and demonstrated strong resilience.

China and the United States agreed to hold the 13th round of high-level economic and trade consultations in Washington in early October, which is a rational choice and the wish of the Chinese and American people. As the world’s two largest economies, China and the United States have formed an interdependent relationship. The US-China economic and trade relations are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature and thus, cooperation is the only right option for both sides. The differences and frictions in the economic and trade relations between the two countries need to be resolved through dialogue basis on equality and mutual respect. The two sides should enlarge cooperation and China will actively carry out international cooperation in the fields of technological innovation, high-tech industries and infrastructure construction. In aspects such as the new generation of information technology, biotechnology, the two sides have the potential to complement each other and achieve win-win cooperation.

The US representatives said that the US-China relations are at a critical period and face a severe test. Trade frictions have adversely affected the US and Chinese economy, and put the global economy under great pressure. Hopefully, the United States and China will resolve the economic and trade problems through consultations. The two countries should attach great importance to the role played by innovation, strengthen cooperation in the areas of big data, artificial intelligence, clean energy and health care to jointly lead the world economy and technological development. The US delegates also stressed that they firmly oppose protectionism and unilateral tariffs. The US-China relationships are very important to not just China and the US, but also the rest of the world. They hope that this dialogue will make contributes to the bilateral relation. The USCC is willing to play an active role in enhancing mutual understanding between China and the US.

The US-China CEO’s Dialogue is jointly organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and the US Chamber of Commerce.