The view of Beijing's Central Business District Photo: VCG

On the heels of the just-concluded third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, a delegation of the board of directors of the US-China Business Council (USCBC), which include executives from the council and some US firms like Boeing Global and United Family Healthcare, have met with Chinese officials, highlighting US business community's deep interest in the outcomes of the third plenum and the intertwined and irreplaceable nature of bilateral economic ties. 

The delegation was the first US business delegation to visit China following the key session. Experts said that just after the third plenum, the group of US corporate executives are eager to visit China to learn about the direction of China's next step in the reform and opening-up, which demonstrated the high interest of the US business community to strengthen cooperation with the world's second largest economy, and further showed that the Chinese market is as always full of attraction.

China on Sunday made public the resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, which was adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee on Thursday. Describing opening-up as a "defining feature of Chinese modernization," the resolution stressed that China will remain committed to the basic state policy of opening to the outside world and continue to promote reform through opening-up. Leveraging the strengths of China's enormous market, China will enhance its capacity for opening-up while expanding international cooperation and develop new institutions for a higher-standard open economy, said the resolution.  

Analysts noted that the resolution has charted a blueprint to promote high-quality development for China, and the opening-up endeavors highlighted in the resolution underscored the country's unwavering determination to providing development dividends to the world.

Face-to-face meetings

Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met the delegation led by Raj Subramaniam, board chair of the USCBC, on Tuesday, with the two sides exchanging views on China-US economic and trade relations, the development of US enterprises in China and other topics.

Wang noted that China will continue to open up, and welcome enterprises from all over the world, including those from the US, to continue to explore the Chinese market and share development opportunities.

According to Yuyuantantian, a social media account under China Media Group, a number of US corporate executives waited an hour early in anticipation in the Great Hall of the People on Monday afternoon for meetings with Chinese officials.  

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with the delegation, briefing the delegation on the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, China's economic situation and its opening-up, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

It is hoped that the USCBC will give full play to its influence, and encourage US companies to seize opportunities by actively participating in China's further deepening of reform comprehensively and Chinese modernization to deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and achieve win-win development, He said.

On the same day, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi  noted that China-US relations are among the world's most important bilateral relationships when he met with the delegation. He said the business council's visit is timely especially after the successful convening of the third plenum, which could help its members to "gauge the new atmosphere of China's further comprehensive deepening of reform firsthand," according to a statement on the website of China's Foreign Ministry.

US business representatives who joined the meeting include USCBC board chair Raj Subramaniam, USCBC president Craig Allen, founder of United Family Healthcare Roberta Lipson, as well as president of Boeing Global Brendan Nelson.  

Those representatives welcomed the significant signal released by the third plenum, and stressed that the Chinese government's consistency, coherence and stability in its policies are crucial for the continued long-term investment and operations of foreign enterprises in China, including US ones.

The economic interests of China and the US are deeply intertwined, and strengthening economic and trade cooperation is of great significance to their respective development and global growth. The business community of China and the US should engage in frank exchanges, build consensus and expand cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, said Yu Jianlong, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT)  while meeting with US business representatives on Monday.

The USCBC will hold its closed-door annual flagship event, the China Operations Conference, in Beijing on July 26, exchanging insights on pivotal developments shaping business in China and the country's foreign policy and economic landscape, according to information disclosed on its official website.

"The visit of such a large delegation of the US businesses to China reflects the fact that many American companies are still hoping to maintain close relations with China, their major trading partner, in order to better secure their business interest," He Weiwen, a senior fellow from the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

He Weiwen said the US business delegation has visited China on this very special occasion to understand China's policies after the crucial meeting. "They hope to further stabilize the economic and trade ties between China and the US." 

In contrast with the US government calling for decoupling from China, He Weiwen said that the US companies vote on their feet from the perspectives of business interest, and economically, they need stable China-US trade relations. Their visit once again demonstrated that they attached great importance to the Chinese market and that the two countries will not and cannot "decouple" from each other, He Weiwen said.

"Face-to-face meetings allow the world to better understand China's development approach and future economic development direction after the key session, and reform measures provide foreign enterprises with greater confidence and assurance, effectively signaling that China offers abundant development opportunities and treats all investors equally," Bian Yongzu, executive deputy editor-in-chief of Modernization of Management magazine, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

High-standard opening-up

The resolution outlined plans for refining the institutions and mechanisms for high-standard opening-up, which involve steadily expanding institutional opening-up, deepening the foreign trade structural reform, further reforming the management systems for inward and outward investment, and optimizing the layout for regional opening-up and improving the mechanism for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

"China has always been a strong supporter of globalization. The highlighted efforts related to opening-up reflect the country's proactive choice to expand its openness, which stands in sharp contrast to unilateralism and protectionist measures taken by some Western nations, Gao Liankui, a Beijing-based economist, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Gao noted that China's openness is based on self-confidence, as its industries and consumption demand are bringing more opportunities for foreign investors.

Bian said the initiatives in the resolution indicated the country vows to establish a new pattern of opening-up on all fronts, including enhancing the breadth of openness, such as attracting foreign investment, and the quality, such as enabling Chinese companies to expand overseas.

Multiple foreign enterprises interviewed by the Global Times said they are upbeat about the long-term stability and vast growth potential of the world's second-largest economy. They are confident that the country's institutional opening-up and the development of new quality productive forces will create more opportunities for the world, while commending China's efforts to further improve business environment for foreign enterprises.

Teh-han Chow, Fonterra Greater China CEO, said in an earlier interview with the Global Times that the company appreciates the Chinese government's efforts in creating a favorable environment for foreign enterprises to invest and operate. China's vast market, growing economy and high-quality development provide ample opportunities to Fonterra and other New Zealand companies, in expanding their presence and success in this market, Chow said. 

French multinational Schneider Electric told the Global Times that it will continue to cultivate the Chinese market and expand investment in new energy projects in China so as to help the formation of new quality productive forces.