Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged US companies to deepen their presence in China, pledging to address their concerns while calling on Washington to reciprocate, as Beijing gears up for President Xi Jinping’s planned visit to the United States later this month.
The remarks came as Li met a delegation from the US-China Business Council – led by its chair, Visa CEO Ryan McInerney – at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday.
Li said China would address the “reasonable concerns” of US companies and ensure a fair and competitive market, while urging Washington to “take concrete steps” to address issues raised by Beijing and implement the outcomes of recent bilateral trade talks between the two sides.
“China may be the only market in the world that combines the two qualities of being large and new,” Li said, pointing to the country’s fast-growing smart and green consumption sectors.
Li added that frictions were normal given the scale of bilateral trade between China and the US, and that solutions could be found to any issues through mutual respect and consultation.
The US-China Business Council represents more than 270 US companies operating in China, including Visa, Medtronic, 3M and Pfizer.
McInerney and other delegation members said the meeting between Xi and US President Donald Trump in May had provided stable expectations for bilateral economic cooperation, and that US businesses would continue to expand investment in China and remain “long-term partners” in its development, according to Xinhua.
On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took aim at China’s global trade surplus in his opening address at the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, raising concerns over “excessive imbalances”.
Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, said on the same day that Beijing had never deliberately pursued a surplus and opposed unilateral tariffs.
In US dollar terms, China’s total bilateral trade with the US rose by 2.3 per cent in the first seven months of the year, while the country’s total foreign trade jumped 21.8 per cent, according to Chinese customs data. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
