Phoenix TV:

At last year's summit meeting in San Francisco, the Chinese and U.S. presidents fostered a future-oriented San Francisco vision . We have also noted that the MOFCOM and its U.S. counterpart established a multi-tiered communication and exchange mechanism last year. How does the MOFCOM view the trend of Sino-U.S. economic and trade relations for this year? What specific considerations are there for the economic and trade cooperation? Thank you.

Wang Wentao:

I'll answer your questions. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. Looking back, bilateral trade has grown by more than 200 times during the past 45 years, with two-way investment stock exceeding $260 billion. According to our statistics, over 70,000 American enterprises have invested and operated in China. China and the U.S., being the world's largest developing and developed countries, respectively, are each other's important trade partners, with two-way trade and investments surging and the industrial and supply chains closely integrated. Sino-U.S. economic and trade collaboration has expanded from a singular focus to various sectors of the economy, contributing substantially to the economic and social development of both countries as well as the well-being of the two peoples. 

The Chinese and U.S. presidents met in San Francisco last November, fostering a future-oriented San Francisco vision . This has pointed to the direction for the development of bilateral economic and trade relations and greatly bolstered the confidence and expectations of the business communities in both countries in engaging in economic and trade cooperation. We always believe that the common interests of China and the U.S. in economic and trade sectors far outweigh our differences. Both parties should enhance dialogues and exchanges, work to help enterprises address various challenges encountered in practical economic and trade cooperation, and explore the potential of such collaboration. For example, many enterprises from the two countries, especially those from the U.S., have expressed that their main concerns relate to the current state of Sino-U.S. relations, worrying about the politicization of economic and trade issues. If "de-risking" is to be executed, this is the greatest risk, without doubt, as some American enterprises told us. They also expressed hope that I could share their concern with my American counterpart on an appropriate occasion. In addition, the enterprises are concerned about some other issues, including a substantial increase in operational costs due to additional tariffs and obstacles to market access due to two-way investment limitations. Sanctions have posed uncertainties to enterprises and their partners, highly elevating their compliance costs. These are all issues both sides need to discuss in the future and work to resolve. We are sincerely committed to driving the resolution of issues that concern businesses.

Next, China is willing to faithfully implement the San Francisco vision with the U.S. and fully leverage the communication and exchange mechanism developed by the MOFCOM and its U.S. counterpart and the export control information communication mechanism. The former mechanism includes ministerial talks, biannual, vice-ministerial conferences, and monthly negotiations at the director level. The two countries should maintain regular communication, properly manage differences, strengthen mutual understanding and trust, promote practical cooperation, and strive to create a favorable environment for economic and trade cooperation, especially the stability of enterprises. 

Thank you.