Experts call for stable Sino-U.S. trade ties

As uncertainties mount ahead of the presidential election in the United States in November, high-level meetings between Chinese and U.S. commerce officials can offer enterprises crucial insights into the future economic and trade relationship between the two major economies, said market observers and business executives on Sunday.

Wang Shouwen, vice-minister of commerce and China international trade representative, and Marisa Lago, U.S. undersecretary of commerce for international trade, co-chaired the second vice-ministerial meeting of the China-U.S. commercial and trade working group on Saturday in Tianjin, the Ministry of Commerce said in a news release.

Clarifying the boundaries of national security in the trade and economic sphere would help stabilize business cooperation expectations, the news release quoted Wang as saying, adding that he opposed using "overcapacity" as an excuse to impose trade and investment restrictions.

China and the U.S. agreed to support trade and investment promotion activities organized by both countries and pledged to maintain communication across a range of sectors, including cross-border data flow, inspection and quarantine, healthcare, medical devices and clean energy, according to the news release.

Wang Xiaosong, a professor at Renmin University of China's School of Economics in Beijing, said that given the interconnected nature of the global economy, any changes in Sino-U.S. trade relations could have wide-ranging impacts.

Holding meetings can offer clarity to global businesses, and stabilize the world's supply chain, the expert added.

The U.S. remains China's third-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade value reaching 2.72 trillion yuan ($384 billion) in the first seven months of 2024, up 4.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 11 percent of China's total foreign trade value, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.

Sandeep Seth, chief growth officer of Tapestry Inc, a New York-based luxury goods group, underscored that stable Sino-U.S. economic and trade ties would benefit businesses in both countries.

China, with its large and expanding middle-income population, presents significant growth opportunities, while the U.S. offers a well-established and lucrative market, he said.

Sally Loh, president for China of Otis Worldwide Corp, said that by partnering with Chinese companies, the U.S. elevator manufacturer has greatly benefited from the tangible growth of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"We have been participating in many projects under the BRI framework in economies involved in the initiative, including the Mecca Metro in Saudi Arabia, the Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates and the Cairo Metro in Egypt," she said.

With active support from the governments of China and the U.S., the U.S.-China Circular Economy Cooperation Forum was held on Friday in Beijing. It established a platform for exchanges and cooperation on the circular economy between business communities, social organizations and research institutions on both sides.

In a separate move, China has urged the Netherlands to avoid impeding normal cooperation and development between the two countries' semiconductor industries, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding the interests of both Chinese and Dutch businesses, the Commerce Ministry said on Sunday.

The European country has expanded its control measures on lithography machines, extending beyond its 2023 semiconductor export control policies. China has expressed dissatisfaction with this move, a spokesperson for the ministry said in an online statement.

The spokesperson said the U.S. has continuously broadened the concept of national security to maintain its global dominance in recent years, pressuring certain countries to tighten export controls on semiconductors and related equipment.

This has severely threatened the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain and undermined the legitimate rights of affected countries and businesses, the spokesperson added.