China’s opening up after Covid and its strong economic recovery will offer “triple” benefits for US business communities despite “chilly” relations between the two countries, Foreign Minister Qin Gang told a group of American business leaders.
The fact that President Xi Jinping was reelected, the nation’s continued efforts to open up to the world, and its social and economic “reset” will benefit US business communities, Qin said in the meeting on Saturday in Beijing, according to a statement posted on China’s Foreign Ministry website.
Still, relations between China and the US are as “chilly” as early spring weather, the minister said.
Qin welcomed US companies to keep expanding investments in China and to set roots in the country, according to the statement. Beijing hopes the US can help promote bilateral relations despite current difficulties and restore ties to a healthy and stable trajectory, he said.
US representatives said China-US relations are at a critical stage and the business communities are committed to preventing the two countries from stepping into a trap of isolation and conflict. They said they welcome further face-to-face communications and hope more China-US flights could be added to facilitate exchanges, according to the statement.
Among US attendees at Saturday’s meeting were Albert Bourla, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer Inc.; Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council; and Ray Dalio, founder of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, according to a photo attached to the statement. American business leaders including Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and Boeing International Corp. President Brendan Nelson are attending the China Development Forum in Beijing this weekend.
“Clearly, the US China tension and the way it is managed will have great bearing on the global economy, great bearing on all nations.” Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a senior minister of Singapore and chairman at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said at the forum Sunday, “And how the US and China are able to combine competition—perfectly legitimate competition, economic competition—with the need for cooperation is going to require considerable strategic ambition and strategic skill, but it will matter to the world.” With assistance from Lucille Liu / Bloomberg.
