China US Photo:VCG

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden have both extended congratulations on the US-China Business Council's (USCBC) 50th anniversary. Observers believe on Friday that it is a renewed gesture underscoring the mutual importance both nations place on their bilateral trade ties, and is particularly noteworthy after the two heads of state recently concluded a historic meeting in the US last month.

Chinese experts meanwhile are also urging more actions from the US side to nurture the hard-won thawing ties, calling for a reduction in political interference in China-US economic cooperation, thus carrying forward the "San Francisco vision" to go further and inject more stability into the world.

In the message, Xi said that the world is undergoing a major transformation unseen in a century. Whether China and the US can work hand in hand to tackle the challenges together concerns the interests of the two peoples and the future of humanity, according to a report from the Xinhua News Agency on Friday.

China is ready, following the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, to make concerted efforts with the US to implement the deliverables of the meeting and promote the healthy, stable and sustainable development of bilateral relations, Xi said.

The messages from the two leaders signal a commitment to sustaining cooperation between the world's two largest economies, while the occasion on which the remarks were delivered - the 50th anniversary of a US trade body - highlights the significance of trade in bilateral ties, Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Friday.

Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also delivered speeches at the USCBC event.

Bolstering anchor of bilateral ties

As an important part of China-US relations, business cooperation between the two countries has brought many tangible benefits to the two peoples, Xi stressed, adding that China will remain firmly committed to advancing high-quality development and high-standard opening-up, and to fostering a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment.

This is the second time Xi has addressed US business communities in just two months. In November, Xi made a face-to-face speech with US business representatives at a welcoming dinner in San Francisco hosted by friendly organizations, including the USCBC.

"China is willing to be a partner and a friend of the US," Xi told a gathering of representatives then.

Xi's remarks objectively and comprehensively elaborated China's position in dealing with relations with the US, that is, to build a partnership on the foundation of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, rather than one dominated by protracted rivalry, observers said.

"It is worth noting that China's position on the matter has always been consistent, not subject to any changes regardless of the time," Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday.

He noted that the words from the Chinese side sent out an unmistakable sign that is set to inject more certainty, stability and predictability into thawing China-US relations. It also serves as a reminder to Washington that it needs to meet China halfway and make constructive contributions to bilateral relations, instead of dragging it into a new type of Cold War confrontation.

Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng speaks at a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the US-China Business Council on local time December 14, 2023 in Washington DC. Photo: VCG

"We need to bolster the anchor of China-US relations, the propeller of practical cooperation and the catalyst for people-to-people exchanges, so as to take our economic cooperation to new heights from San Francisco onward," Xie Feng, the Chinese Ambassador said at the event.

Xie emphasized that both sides should move toward each other with sincerity, reciprocate actions, and effectively utilize the mechanisms established or restored in economic and financial aspects to enhance communication.

In her speech, Yellen said that Washington does not want to decouple from China, but is working to establish "durable" communications channels to deal with problems as they occur. She also announced a planned second visit to China and steps to accelerate cooperation on climate risks and financial markets.

Yellen's visit to China was announced quite ahead of time, which further proves that trade cooperation is in the interests of both countries, experts noted, adding that the financial sector is one among a number of workable fields in which the two countries could promote smooth cooperation and amplify common ground of mutual interests in the early stage.

"China and the US need to strengthen the momentum in trade and economic sector, not weaken it. Only in this way can the development of bilateral relations be beneficial to the world," Li Haidong added.

In November, trade between China and US also see signs of recovering, as China's exports to the US ended 14 months of decline and turned to growth of 9.6 percent, Shu Jueting, a spokesperson of the Chinese Commerce Ministry, said on Thursday.

Eliminate political interference

"China believes keeping China-US economic and trade ties sound and stable is beneficial to our two countries and the wider world. Meanwhile, we also hope that the US will honor its words instead of sanctioning Chinese companies while claiming it wants cooperation and won't decouple with China," Mao Ning, a spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, told a regular press conference in response to Yellen's remarks on Friday.

"We did see increasing exchanges between the two nations over the past month after the two leaders' meeting, but the US has not changed its China policy, and even intensified its crackdown on Chinese firms and specific sectors, which has greatly impeded bilateral ties from going further," Li Yong said.

Amplifying the "China threat," clamoring about chip supply cut-off, extending the sanctions list, and demanding that a Chinese agricultural company that has been operating in the US for over 50 years relinquish its land and assets - these actions are inconsistent with the US' stated commitment to continuing developing economic and trade relations with China and not seeking to suppress China's development, Xie said.

Risks need to be defined within a certain scope, and the boundaries of national security must be clearly outlined. It cannot be treated like a basket where everything is thrown in. Labeling everything from Chinese garlic to social media as "national security risks" is absurd. Building one's security on the instability of others and the global supply chain is not only impractical but also undesirable, Xie said.

On Tuesday, the US House Select Committee on China called for an aggressive "reset" on China economic ties with a 53-page report that proposes nearly 150 recommendations, ranging from imposing new tariffs on legacy semiconductors from China to further cutting off the flow of capital and technology between the two countries to revoking Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China.

"Judging from the US policy, Washington will still seek so-called 'strategic competition' with China during cooperation," Li Yong said, adding that the complexity of US domestic political environment and some anti-China lawmakers may pose more uncertainties to bilateral ties.

However, analysts noted that the US must build an accurate, healthy and objective perception of China, which is the key to addressing problems that persist in the relations between the world's two largest economies. Otherwise, geopolitical power plays and ideological suppression will only bring the US policy on China to a dead end.