File photo: China US

It is obvious to all that the business communities of China and the US are voting with "their feet" on China's economy, and want cooperation instead of "decoupling." This is also what the people of the two countries want and what they hope for in China-US relations, China's trade promotion agency said on Friday.

At the invitation of US commerce chambers, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) plans to organize a delegation of Chinese entrepreneurs to visit the US in June to increase exchanges. 

The remarks came in response to a recent meeting between China's top leader and a number of US representatives, indicating that China is now paying more attention to exchanges with the American people at all levels and the business community, analysts said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with representatives of the US business, strategic and academic communities at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

"The two countries' respective success is an opportunity for each other. As long as both sides see each other as partners and show mutual respect, coexist in peace and cooperate for win-win results, China-US relations will get better," the Chinese top leader said.

Just as the Chinese president has stressed, the foundation of China-US relations lies among the people, the hope is in the people, the future lies in the youth, and the vitality lies in sub-national areas, Yang Fan, a spokesperson for the CCPIT, told the Global Times on Friday during a regular press conference.

"As the country's largest trade and investment promotion agency and the spokesperson of Chinese industrial and commercial enterprises, the CCPIT has always taken it as an important mission to deepen exchanges and cooperation between the business communities of China and the US," Yang said.

In fact, US companies are still heavily involved in the Chinese market and are confident in China's economic development and vast market potential.

According to a recent survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, the majority of US companies saw improved profitability in China in 2023, and half of the survey participants put China as their first choice or within their top three investment destinations globally. 

One of the latest examples was the just-concluded China Development Forum (CDF) 2024, held from Sunday to Monday in Beijing, during which more than 30 percent of the over 80 business executives attending the forum came from the US.

This figure is strong evidence indicating the US business sector's unabated commitment to the China market, in stark contrast to the "decoupling" narrative promoted by some US politicians.

"The Chinese economy is always going to be a very significant economy and a very significant driver of global growth, and I don't think that's different this year as opposed to any other," Timothy Creber, general manager at the China Operation of American Express, told the Global Times at the sidelines of the CDF 2024.

"The opportunities are huge and the opportunity to continue to partner with different institutions in this market is very good. So we're very confident about the Chinese economy over the coming years," said Creber.

On March 5, the first session of the US-China Commercial Match-Making Program (CMP) in 2024 was held in Southwest China's Chongqing, after bringing together more than 130 entrepreneurs from China and the US.

CMP was jointly launched by the CCPIT and the US Department of Commerce in 2005. Over the past 19 years, the two sides have held more than 100 themed matching events in advanced manufacturing, rail transit, energy conservation, environmental protection, financial services, automobile technology, tourism and culture, and investment cooperation, benefiting more than 2,000 Chinese and US companies.

"During the CMP session in March this year, we saw warm on-site exchanges and interactions, which shows the strong desire of the Chinese and American business communities to strengthen exchanges and cooperation," Yang said.

Unlike the US and some Western countries that closed their previously open doors to the outside world for political reasons, China has always welcomed global companies to operate and develop in the Chinese market and share the dividends of its market potential, Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times.

China has taken a slew of measures to expand market access for foreign businesses, including those from the US, so as to achieve greater integration of industrial interests, "make the cake of economic interests bigger" and achieve win-win results, analysts pointed out.

"From the perspective of the US business community, their interests are closely linked to those of the Chinese business community. Therefore, the US business community has an intrinsic motivation to promote the development of China-US relations," said Li.

However, analysts warned that the US government is constantly trying to suppress China's development. China expects both sides to meet each other halfway, but at the same time China should also be prepared for the worst.

In particular, the US' technological war against China is bound to continue, because technological hegemony is one of its strategic fundamental interests, Zhang Xiaorong, director of the Beijing-based Cutting-Edge Technology Research Institute, told the Global Times on Friday.

The US knows it can't "decouple" from China, but it is increasingly nervous seeing China's rapid technological rise, Zhang noted.

The CCPIT also said on Friday during the press conference that US acts, such as the so-called "Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act" and US export control measures, are still causes of concern for Chinese enterprises.