Li Keqiang, Premier of China, Reiterates Commitment to Market Opening to US Business Community

Video Conference with Over 20 Global CEOs... "China's Door Will Open Wider"
US Business Community: "Decoupling Is a Major Source of Anxiety for Both the US, China, and the World"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] In the first quarter of this year, China's exports to the U.S. surged by 61.3%, and Premier Li Keqiang held a video conference with more than 20 CEOs of American global companies.

China's state-run People's Daily reported on the 14th that Premier Li attended the "U.S. Business Leaders Video Conference" hosted by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson the previous day. The meeting was also attended by Wang Yi, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister in charge of diplomacy, and He Lifeng, Director (Minister) of the National Development and Reform Commission, the main agency overseeing China's economic development planning.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Premier Li emphasized, "We must uphold the spirit of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation, as agreed upon through the telephone conversation between the leaders of China and the U.S." He added, "China and the U.S. should respect each other's core interests and major concerns, strengthen dialogue and communication, and expand practical cooperation," and stated, "We must properly handle differences to ensure that China-U.S. relations generally move in a stable direction."

Premier Li particularly stressed China-U.S. trade. He said, "Despite the difficult situation of the pandemic last year, China-U.S. trade grew," emphasizing, "This means that conditions and opportunities for bilateral cooperation objectively exist."

Premier Li reiterated China's commitment to market opening. He said, "Market opening is a fundamental national policy of China," and added, "China's door will open even wider." He continued, "We will create an international business environment through regulatory reforms so that foreign companies can compete fairly in China," and requested, "We ask American companies to actively participate in China's reform, opening-up, and modernization process."

Representatives of the U.S. business community responded, "We welcome China's efforts to develop externally and optimize the business environment," and said, "We have expectations for China's development and will continue long-term economic, trade, and investment cooperation in China."

They also added that economic and trade cooperation is the foundation of China-U.S. relations, and that decoupling would bring great instability to both countries and the world.