Chinese nationalist leader Xi Jinping called for closer trade ties with the United States during a meeting Wednesday with top American business leaders. The meeting in Beijing came amid a steady improvement in relations that had fallen to their lowest level in years.
Xi stressed the mutually beneficial economic ties between the world's two largest economies, despite heavy US tariffs on Chinese imports and Washington's accusations of undue Communist Party influence, unfair trade barriers and intellectual property theft.
“[T]Sino-American relations are one of the most important bilateral relations in the world. Whether China and the United States have a cooperative or confrontational relationship, this affects the well-being of the Chinese and American people and the future of humanity. By the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Xi also sought to counter the narrative that China's economic momentum has dissipated. The Chinese economy is struggling to recover from the strict restrictions it imposed on itself during the Covid-19 pandemic, which it only lifted at the end of 2022. But Xi stressed that China had “one of the highest growth rates among major economies” and contributed about 30% of GDP. . Global economic growth rate in 2023.
Among the meeting participants was Stephen A. Schwarzman, the billionaire chairman of the investment firm Blackstone.
Trade and tariffs have increasingly attracted attention in the run-up to the US presidential election, and the Biden administration has shown little sign of easing punitive measures against Chinese imports imposed by his predecessor and presumed rival in the November election, Donald Trump.
US officials have renewed concerns about China's industrial policy practices and excess capacity, and the resulting impact on US workers and companies. As evidence, they point to China's massive trade surplus, which reached more than $279 billion last year, its lowest level in about a decade.
Following the meeting, the US-China Business Council said in a statement that it was honored to hold a dialogue with China's top leader “to discuss our concerns about the decline in trade, investment and business confidence, as well as our desire to help.” Improving participation and trade exchange between our two countries.”
“We stressed the importance of rebalancing the Chinese economy by increasing consumption there and encouraged the government to address long-standing concerns about cross-border data flows, government procurement, improve intellectual property rights protection, and improve regulatory transparency and predictability.” The existing council said. Its president, Craig Allen, was among the guests who met Xi.
China's economy is suffering from a real estate crisis, with construction workers struggling under mountains of debt and buyers paying off loans on apartments that may never be completed. Other issues, such as an aging population and high youth unemployment, are pushing China's leaders to rely more on boosting export manufacturing to compensate for weak demand at home.
Meanwhile, dozens of foreign companies, including Apple, rely on Chinese manufacturers as key links in their supply chains, along with the country's 1.3 billion consumers for a high percentage of their global sales.
China's harsh tone toward the United States has softened in recent months, especially since Xi and US President Joe Biden met in San Francisco in November. Officials such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have visited China, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is scheduled to travel there again to meet with senior leaders next month.
But Xi's administration has maintained a hard line on issues it considers its “core interests.” These include its sovereignty claims over almost the entire South China Sea, the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan – a close US ally – and its strict rule over outlying regions such as Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang.
Xi, an ardent nationalist and son of one of the founders of the People's Republic, appears intent on maintaining tight party control while attracting foreign investment to prop up the economy.
“The success of the two countries represents an opportunity for each other,” the Foreign Ministry quoted Xi as saying. “As long as the two sides view each other as partners, show mutual respect, coexist peacefully and cooperate to achieve win-win results, Sino-US relations will improve,” he added.
