The 14th annual US-China CEO and Former Senior Officials' Dialogue is held in Beijing on July 12 and 13, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of China Center for International Economic Exchanges

The US has no intention to "decouple" from the Chinese economy, and a "decoupling" of the world's two largest economies would be disastrous for both countries and would destabilize the world, US delegates said at the 14th annual US-China CEO and Former Senior Officials' Dialogue held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Beijing.

Competition is everywhere in today's world, but it should be healthy competition that promotes win-win results, rather than a zero-sum game, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng said on Tuesday when meeting US representatives during the event, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

 "China will unswervingly advance reform and opening-up, and welcome companies from all over the world, including the US, to deepen their presence in the Chinese market and contribute to maintaining the stability and smooth flow of global industrial and supply chains and promoting world economic development," said Han.

Delegates from the two sides had in-depth discussions and exchanges on the global economic situation and the prospects of China-US economic and trade relations, the digital economy, sustainable development and healthcare.

Bi Jingquan, executive vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), said at the opening ceremony on Tuesday that China and the US share a wide range of common interests despite differences.

"US companies have invested a cumulative $96 billion in China, while Chinese companies have invested $77.2 billion in the US. Behind the huge bilateral trade and investment flows are the interdependence of the two economies, the mutual trust of entrepreneurs and the common interests of the two peoples," Bi noted.

The US representatives said that US-China economic and trade relations are of great importance to both sides. 

The US and China need to work closely together on the digital economy. The two countries share broad common interests in the fields of sustainable development and healthcare, and hope to open up more possibilities for cooperation in other fields through various forms of bilateral and multilateral cooperation, they stressed.

In the digital economy, sustainable development and healthcare, US companies have a lot of advantages, such as technologies, while China has market advantages. They complement each other and create a win-win situation, Hu Qimu, deputy secretary general of the digital real economies integration Forum 50, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 

"US representatives' remarks at the event fully show the divergent interests of the US political and business communities," said Hu. "The former is more concerned with geopolitical interests, and it advocates 'decoupling' for more votes." 

Chinese delegates said that with the resumption of a new round of high-level interactions between China and the US, a valuable window of time for a turnaround had come for bilateral relations. 

It is hoped that the US representatives will communicate more with the US government and society, and play a constructive role in promoting the sound and stable development of China-US relations, Chinese representatives said.

The global economic recovery still faces many difficulties. High inflation, rising interest rates and artificially alienated industrial and supply chains are dragging down the world economy. It is imperative to work together instead of against each other to meet global challenges, they said.

Hu noted that the trade barriers initiated by the US have seriously distorted global industry chains, and turned the exports of American companies into their inventories, which harmed those companies' interests. In the context of globalization, any disruption of industry chains will affect all countries involved.

Since 2011, the CCIEE and the US Chamber of Commerce have jointly organized the US-China CEO and Former Senior Officials' Dialogue, which has been successfully held 13 times in Beijing and Washington, according to the CCIEE.

Global Times