CCIEE Executive Vice Chairman Zhang Xiaoqiang Meets with President of the USITO, Christopher Millward

  • Time:2019-10-29
  • source:CCIEE

On October 23, Zhang Xiaoqiang, Executive Vice Chairman and Director of CCIEE Executive Board, met with Christopher Millward, President of the United States Information Industry Office (USITO) at CCIEE. The two sides exchanged views on issues related to the development of the electronic information industry and the current Sino-US trade friction. Xu Chaoyou, Director-General of the Department of External Affairs of CCIEE, Yuan Youwei, Deputy Director-General of the Department of External Affairs of CCIEE, Zhang Huanbo, Deputy Director of the Institute of European and American Studies, and Li Feng, Deputy Director of the Institute of Innovation and Development, were also present at the meeting.



Zhang Xiaoqiang said that China and the United States are not just the first- and second-largest economies, but also two big participants in the field of electronic information and thus, the cooperation and competition between the two countries will have a great impact on the development of the global electronic information industry and economic development. Even though Sino-US trade frictions have affected the cooperation between the two countries, China is willing to work with the United States to effectively manage differences and restore bilateral relations.




Zhang Xiaoqiang said that as a new type of think tank in China, CCIEE has always tried to promote the Sino-US economic and trade cooperation. For example, CCIEE and the US Chamber of Commerce have jointly established a “second-track” dialogue platform between Chinese and American business leaders and former dignitaries. The latest dialogue was held on September 10 this year, during which Chinese business CEOs and officials and their US counterparts exchanged views, including Mr. Myron Brilliant, Executive Vice President of USCC, and former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Miguel Gutierrez. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also met with US representatives and held in-depth discussions. He used the example of “half a glass of water” to describe the current China-US economic and trade relations. If we look at this half a glass of water positively, there is still room to fill up; if we look at it negatively, we have only half a glass of water left. The business leaders from both countries believe that high tariffs and protectionism should not be used to resolve Sino-US Economic and trade frictions. Instead, they should have a forward-looking attitude and actively solve problems with complementary advantages and win-win development. Next week, CCIEE, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and the Brookings Institution will hold a seminar in Singapore with the aim of seeking a common future for Sino-US relations. Furthermore, CCIEE has also provided government departments with policy recommendations in different areas, such as promoting the development of Sino-US economic and trade relations, and the integrated circuit industry.




At the forthcoming seminar in Singapore, CCIEE Chairman Zeng Peiyan will talk about the “decoupling” between China and the United States. The convening of the annual board meeting of USITO in Beijing shows that China and the United States cannot be separated. The development of China’s electronic information industry is inseparable from the active participation, market cooperation and competition of American companies. American companies operating in China should know that they are welcomed in China. CCIEE has maintained years of cooperation with Intel and Qualcomm. Commissioned by Qualcomm, CCIEE once conducted research on China’s 5G development and both sides agreed that 5G is a new opportunity for Chinese and American companies. The “Made in China 2025” released by China in 2015 never intended to exclude foreign companies. China has become the world’s largest market in some fields but Chinese companies have only a small market share in it. The purpose of the “Made in China 2025” is to encourage Chinese companies to have better development in these large markets. At present, some people think that the development of China’s 5G, especially Huawei, will threaten the information security of the United States and even the world. Therefore, the United States first sanctioned ZTE last year and stopped selling chips and operating systems to Huawei this year. The actions taken by President Trump and the United States have caused the current dilemma and harmed businesses on both sides. Huawei and other Chinese companies are worried, and American semiconductor companies are also confused. Many semiconductor companies in the United States are asking the authorities not to intervene in the matter with administrative cancellation because this will also hurt American companies.

Zhang Xiaoqiang said that the ICT industry is not only about hardware and software, the derived big data and cloud computing are also very important. In fact, the core software of China’s ICT industry is largely developed by American companies. Taking smartphones as an example, China has the largest production of mobile phones in the world. Last year, it produced nearly 1.5 billion units using either the Apple system, or Google’s Android system. China is the largest producer of notebooks and tablet computers, but almost all the operating system is Microsoft’s “windows” system. The security problem brought by the rapid development of information is a common problem facing all the countries. China has just issued 4 commercial licenses for the 5G. Chinese experts believe that the 5G network can store massive data, has extensive connectivity and ultra-low latency and thus, a little problem in 5G can cause serious damage, regardless of who is the provider of the 5G. The 5G will surely bring us development opportunities, but there are also many risk issues need to be addressed.

Mr. Millward said that China and the United States should work together to find a solution acceptable to both sides in an open manner and seek cooperation frankly. He hopes that the two organizations will continue dialogues and discussions, exchange information, share data and enhance mutual trust. At the same time, both sides should try to provide decision-makers with policy recommendations, help them better understand the situation and relevant risks, formulate better policies, and properly solve the problems in the current friction.



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