Xi calls for more China-US exchanges
Cao Desheng
Beijing: The Chinese economy is healthy and sustainable, and China will consistently improve its business environment to provide broader development space for enterprises from various countries, including the United States, President Xi Jinping said this week.
He made the remarks during a meeting in Beijing with representatives from American business, strategic and academic communities.
China did not collapse as predicted by the “China collapse theory”, nor will it peak as forecast by the “China peak theory”, Xi told the US guests.
The meeting took place amid intensive meetings of senior Chinese officials with global business executives in the past weeks, and it is widely considered as a significant step China has taken to stabilize the expectations of foreign investors with regard to the Chinese market.
On China-US relations, Xi said that whether China and the US engage in cooperation or confrontation matters to the well-being of both peoples and the future of humanity. “The two countries’ respective success presents an opportunity for each other. As long as both sides regard each other as partners, show mutual respect, coexist peacefully and pursue win-win cooperation, China-US relations can get better.”
He talked about his meeting with US President Joe Biden in San Francisco in November, saying that the most important common understanding they reached was that China-US relations should stabilize and improve.
In line with the consensus reached by the two heads of state, working groups from both countries have maintained communications over the past months, and made progress in fields such as politics, diplomacy, the economy, trade, finance, law enforcement, anti-drug cooperation, climate change and people-to-people exchanges.
Under the current circumstances, the common interests of China and the US are not diminishing but are increasing, Xi said, citing traditional fields such as the economy, trade and agriculture, and emerging areas including climate change and artificial intelligence.
Promoting the recovery of the world economy and addressing international and regional issues all require China and the US to coordinate and cooperate with each other, he added.
Xi urged the US to establish the right strategic perception about China, handle sensitive issues properly and promote the sustained, stable and healthy development of China-US relations.
China-US relations cannot go back to the old days, but they can embrace a brighter future, he said, urging the US to meet China halfway to explore the right way to get along with each other for a sustained and stable relationship.
On the Chinese economy, the president said that the prospects for China’s development are bright, and “we have confidence and determination about that”.
China will consistently promote high-quality development and advance Chinese modernization, which will not only allow the Chinese people to enjoy a better life, but also make greater contributions to the sustainable development of the world, Xi said.
He reiterated China’s commitment to reform and opening-up, saying that China’s reform will not pause, and its opening-up will not stop.
He noted that the Chinese government is planning and implementing major measures to comprehensively deepen reform to build a world-class, market-oriented business environment that is governed by a sound legal framework in order to provide broader development space for enterprises from various countries.
Faced with the new situations and changes in China-US economic and trade relations in recent years, both sides should adhere to mutual respect, mutual benefits and consultation on an equal footing, act in accordance with market rules to expand and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, respect each other’s development rights, and pursue win-win outcomes for both China and the world, Xi said.
More American companies are welcome to participate in the joint building of the Belt and Road, participate in the China International Import Expo, and continue to “invest in China, deepen their presence in China, and achieve success in China”, he added.
Evan G. Greenberg, chair of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on US-China Relations, Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of Blackstone, Cristiano R. Amon, president and CEO of Qualcomm, Graham Allison, founding dean of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, spoke at the meeting.
They noted that China’s exceptional economic growth and transformation over the past decades speak to its strong resilience and vitality.
Saying that the development rights of the Chinese people should be respected, they expressed confidence that China will realize its development goals and contribute to a stronger, more integrated global economy.
Sharing close economic ties, the United States and China can only develop and thrive in peaceful coexistence, and the Thucydides trap is not inevitable, they said.
They said that US businesses applaud the measures that China has recently rolled out to further reform and open up, are optimistic about China’s development prospects, will maintain their strong commitment to the Chinese market, and pursue close and long-term cooperation with China.
The US business, strategic and academic communities support the US and China in bolstering exchanges and communication at all levels, enhancing mutual understanding, trust and cooperation, joining hands to address global challenges, and fostering a stable, sustainable and productive US-China relationship, they added.
