Commentary: Economic, trade cooperation remains "ballast stone" of China-U.S. ties

Apple CEO Tim Cook attends the opening of a new flagship Apple store in east China's Shanghai, March 21, 2024. The new flagship Apple store is set to become the company's second-largest retail store globally. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Shortly after China's key policy meeting concluded last week, a U.S. business delegation visited China and had conversations with a number of ministries, indicating that they have received the signal of China's further opening up and are confident in continuing to deepen cooperation with China.

As Sino-U.S. relations arrive at a critical juncture, and the third plenum of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee reaffirms China's commitment to opening up, the visit by U.S. corporate leaders is not only timely, but also conducive to the two countries developing a correct perception of each other.

Economic and trade ties were long regarded as the "ballast stone" of bilateral relations. But in recent years, the U.S. administration has taken many unilateral moves to hinder two-way trade and investment.

While some in the West alleged that China is shutting its door to the world, Beijing's latest message is loud and clear: Opening up has been a defining feature of China's rapid development and remains a hallmark of Chinese modernization.

According to the recent plenum, China will steadily expand institutional opening up, deepen foreign trade structural reform, further reform the management systems for inward and outward investment, improve planning for regional opening up, and refine the mechanisms for high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

As China opens its goods, services, capital and labor markets to the rest of the world in an orderly manner, it will bring more business opportunities to the world, including U.S. companies. It's certainly good news for boosting Sino-U.S. economic and trade ties.

Members of the U.S.-China Business Council, consisting of CEOs and presidents of leading U.S. companies, formed the first delegation from the U.S. business community to visit China after the plenum.

Face-to-face meetings and field studies are the best way to clear up any misunderstandings and correct misconceptions. Such interactions are good for the two sides to reduce opportunity costs and elevate cooperation to a higher quality level.

Members of the delegation have voiced their confidence in continuing to deepen cooperation with China in fields such as economy, trade, investment, green development, health, education and people-to-people exchanges.

The enduring nature of China-U.S. economic and trade relations is mutual benefit while the common interests of the two countries far outweigh their differences in the economic and trade field. Even when there are economic and trade frictions, the "ballast stone" role of trade and economic cooperation should be strengthened rather than weakened.

Whether China and the United States can work together to achieve common prosperity and tackle global challenges is a matter that concerns the interests of the two peoples and the future of humanity. From the daily lives of the people to the global economic outlook, the impact of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation is both significant and far-reaching. The two sides need to bolster the anchor of China-U.S. relations to raise economic and trade cooperation to new heights.

With U.S. business leaders eager to seize the opportunities of China's comprehensive deepening of reforms and optimistic about future cooperation with China, politicians in Washington should truly listen to the voices of the U.S. business community, handle the U.S.-China relationship from a long-term perspective, and do some good things for the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

If the "ballast stone" is damaged or even lost, it will not only harm the interests of the business people and consumers of the two countries, but also have a disastrous impact on the global economy.