Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang called on the US to loosen its control on exports to China and highlighted the mutual benefits the cooperation between the world's largest economies has brought about.
Wang made the remarks while addressing the China-US Business Luncheon in Washington, DC on Tuesday.
China's economy continues to grow steadily and fast and moves higher on the value chain. The country's traditional industries are experiencing transformation and upgrading, while the emerging industries are mushrooming. China's development creates a huge demand for advanced technology, Wang said.
"Unfortunately, the US enterprises have missed their share of the cake due to the outdated US export controls," he said, noting that US high-tech products to China accounted for only 8.2 percent of China's total imports of such products in 2016, much lower than the 16.7 percent recorded in 2001.
VCG Photo
China imported integrated circuits worth 227 billion US dollars last year, exceeding the total imports of crude oil, iron ore and primary plastics combined. However, the US only contributed to four percent of China's imports.
Wang stressed that economic and trade cooperation means exchanging benefits, and differences exist along the way. Both Chinese and American industries share the hope that their governments remove the barriers that hinder the opening of the other's market.
He said that it makes sense that some Americans are in favor of the idea supporting hiring Americans and purchasing goods made in the US. Likewise, similar slogans are supported in China, Wang noted. But both sides should be aware that in a world where neither Americans nor Chinese could live without goods made in the other country, people are benefiting from a strong, balanced and healthy development of bilateral economic and trade relations.
The 100-day plan agreed on by Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in April has been on the right track.
US beef reappeared on Chinese dining tables after 14 years of absence, and China's imports of natural gas from the US reached 400,000 tonnes the first five months of 2017 compared to zero in the same period last year. Through dialogue and negotiations, both sides are exploring better ways of communication based on mutual respect and cooperation and are establishing mutual trust, Wang noted.
US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross also attended the business luncheon and delivered speeches.
Ross said they are looking for specific agreements to increase the US's access to China's growing consumer market.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross gives a speech at a business luncheon in Washington, DC, July 18, 2017. /VCG Photo
"Our working relations is better today than it has been in many decades. Even though occasionally we disagree on individual items, we have fundamentally share objectives," Ross said.
Senior officials from China and the US are scheduled to meet in Washington for the first round of discussions regarding economic and trade issues on Wednesday.
The upcoming meeting is one of the four high-level mechanisms targeting economy, diplomacy and security which were established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Xi and Trump.
