Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, recalled the history of China-US business relations.

He discussed the first major rebellion of the British North American colonies in 1773, virtually the spark that created the United States of America, in which patriots at the Boston Tea Party, disguised as native Americans, threw tea imported from Fujian into Boston Harbor to protest a new tax that the British colonial government had put on the tea.

The uprising was referenced in America's Declaration of Independence, its founding document, in which Thomas Jefferson laid out the formal claims for independence when he complained that England's King George had illegally cut off trade with all parts of the world and "imposed tariffs without our consent", according to Allen.

"This is interesting and has a relevance even today," he said.

Talking about the current trade tensions between China and the US, Allen said he hoped the leaders of the two countries will be inspired by the friendship, cooperation and mutual benefit that has characterized the bilateral relationship in the past.

"We have a glorious history. We have a mutual responsibility to ensure that the success of the past continues into the future," he said.