Business Council calls for China and US governments to focus on priorities

The US business community on Wednesday called on the US and Chinese governments to continue strengthening the commercial relationship between the two countries.

A statement of priority actions released by the US-China Business Council (USCBC) focuses on the efforts needed by both governments on the top priorities for US companies that conduct business with China. USCBC represents more than 200 companies doing business there.

The four major goals listed are to further solidify the foundation for mutually beneficial commercial relations, reduce trade barriers and enforce globally accepted trade rules, ensure competitive neutrality and improve transparency and strengthen intellectual property rights protection and adhere to mutually beneficial innovation policies.

"The United States and China must work to achieve the shared goals of our bilateral relationship to fulfill the potential for growth and success in both countries. The fundamental steps we have outlined form a solid path to guide actions of both governments in the years ahead," USCBC Chairman Mark Fields, who is president and CEO of Ford Motor Co, said in the statement.

USCBC President John Frisbie said the US business community is a partner to both governments in achieving the shared goal of tangible progress in the coming year. "Through the declaration of our priorities, American business leaders are highlighting the need for the US and Chinese governments to create a stronger foundation for what is the most important bilateral relationship in the global economy," he said in the statement.

The business leaders called on the two governments to quickly resume and complete high-standard Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) negotiations.

Under President Barack Obama, China and the US held more than 20 rounds of talks on the BIT. While the two sides had come closer, a final agreement was not reached as the US awaited a much shorter negative list from China.

Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, argued in a recent seminar that Trump should support the BIT because this is a good deal for US companies. Trump has expressed his distaste for multilateral agreements and a preference for bilateral deals, saying there are good deals and bad deals.

David Dollar, a senior fellow at the John L. Thornton China Center of the Brookings Institution, believes China should not give up on the BIT but expressed doubt that the Trump administration would react very positively right now. "But certainly talk to them, see if they might be interested," he said.

The USCBC statement has also called on the US to accelerate its sensible export control reforms, saying the US should allow greater exports of items that do not present a security risk and are already available on open markets for non-US sources.

China has long called for the US to lift its restrictions on high-tech exports to China, believed also to be an effective way to cut the huge bilateral trade deficits now in China's favor.

There had been widespread concern that Trump might trigger a trade war with China by imposing high tariffs on Chinese exports and naming China a currency manipulator, as he threatened during the presidential election.

But recent developments, including high-level phone calls and meetings, have shown that this is unlikely, even though Trump's China policy is still far from clear.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com