China will send a delegation of entrepreneurs to the US in early December at the invitation of the US Chamber of Commerce, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) has confirmed.
The move marks one of the most visible signs yet that business confidence is returning after a period of particularly strained relations between the world’s two largest economies, according to a source spoken to by the Global Times.
He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the Times that Chinese and US companies had been in close communication throughout Washington and Beijing’s stand-off – sparked by US President Trump’s initial reciprocal tariff announcement back in April. He said he saw next month’s trip as a sign companies were “voting with their feet” for cooperation.
Last month’s meeting between President Xi Jinping and Trump had created momentum and a more predictable environment for business, He noted. “It is important to seize this favourable window, strengthen and expand these fundamentals, lengthen the list of cooperative projects, and further reduce tariffs and trade barriers – areas where the US still has considerable room to act.”
[See more: Donald Trump says he plans to visit China next April]
CCPIT spokesperson Yang Fan also said bilateral ties had improved since the two heads of state met in Busan, South Korea. She described the upcoming tour as a trust-building exercise where any concerns could be addressed.
The delegation, which also plans to visit Canada at the invitation of the Canada China Business Council, will include firms from agriculture and food, machinery and electronics, financial services, cross-border trade, logistics, transportation, biomedicine and cultural sectors.
During the trip, the Chinese companies are expected to meet with US government and business representatives and take part in a number of exchange events aimed at explaining China’s latest policies on high-quality development and further opening-up.
Several China-US industry exchanges have already taken place this month, including a healthcare and insurance industry roundtable jointly held by the CCPIT and the US Embassy in China, and a health economy and innovation development dialogue conference co-hosted by the China Chamber of International Commerce and the US-China Business Council.
Yang said participation was “enthusiastic,” with companies on both sides eager for stable and sustainable ties.
