China US Photo: VCG

The deputy director of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planner, Lian Weiliang, met with a delegation of US companies' representatives led by Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council (USCBC) on Wednesday, to discuss a wide range of economic and trade issues.

Amid wide expectations for bilateral relations to get back on track, experts said that the meeting showed that American companies are particularly interested to cooperate with China and hope to develop the Chinese market, their major destination market, as high inflation and weak consumption bite the US economy.

The two sides exchanged views on a wide range of issues of mutual concern, such as China-US economic and trade cooperation, expanding high-level opening-up and China's macroeconomic situation, according to the NDRC.

Representatives of US-based companies such as ExxonMobil, Boeing, Cargill and Emerson attended the meeting and communicated with relevant departments of the NDRC.

This followed the historic meeting of the leaders of the two countries at the G20 summit in Indonesia, during which the two sides pledged to take concrete action to push China-US relations back on a stable track for development.

He Weiwen, an executive council member of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday that it was a positive move by the US side to have this meeting with the Chinese side, especially after the two countries' heads of state moved to smooth out issues, especially in terms of how to manage differences.

"The conditions for cooperation are definitely much better, and the two sides may have bigger potential for stronger cooperation," He said.

"But we must also listen to the US' words and watch its actions. Hopefully, the Biden administration will abandon Cold War mentality toward China, and do something that is beneficial to the restoration of bilateral relations," the expert said, noting that it is also hoped that the USCBC can play a more active role.

Bai Ming, deputy director of the International Market Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the meeting showed that US companies are keen to cooperate with China and explore the Chinese market.

"Fairness and openness should go both ways …they are maintaining high tariffs on Chinese goods while pushing China to further open up to them, which is unreasonable," Bai said.