Talks key to resolve trade issues

US business leaders call for stronger cooperation in high-tech industries

Business leaders from the United States said they hope the US and China will resolve their economic and trade issues through consultations, as the trade row dimmed prospects for the growth of American companies.

Chinese experts and a delegation of US business leaders held discussions over two days in a dialogue which concluded on Wednesday. The event was organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges and the US Chamber of Commerce.

Several US delegation members said they hope the two governments can resolve the existing problems in their bilateral relationship.

The two sides should attach great importance to innovation and strengthen their cooperation in such sectors as big data, artificial intelligence, clean energy, and healthcare, they said.

Charles Freeman, senior vice-president for Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce, said in a news conference the big challenge at this time is the uncertainty hovering over ties between the two nations. Escalation of tariffs made it very difficult for companies to plan, he said.

CCIEE Vice-President Wei Jianguo said he remains optimistic about the next stage of China-US economic and trade relations.

Chinese and US entrepreneurs can cooperate to cope with the difficulties they are facing, Wei said at the media briefing. US and Chinese economies cannot simply decouple from each other, he added.

The event came as Chinese and US negotiators agreed to meet next month in Washington in a fresh attempt to find a way forward over the yearlong trade spat.

Many US companies have lowered revenue growth projections because of the tit-for-tat tariffs between the world's two largest economies, a report by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said.

Reuters quoted the report as saying that while most of the member companies of the chamber remained profitable in 2018, the number reporting revenue growth declined.

For the first time since 2015, companies reporting optimism over prospects in the next five years fell, the report said. Revenue growth projections by US companies have been lowered, and optimism about the future has waned.

"With no sign of a trade agreement, 2019 will be a difficult year. Without a trade deal, 2020 may be worse," the report said.

Three-quarters of respondents said they were opposed to the use of tariffs to handle trade disputes, it added. The survey was conducted between June 27 and July 25 before the latest round of tariff increases took effect and received 333 responses.