Economic and commercial counselor: China-U.S. economic trade cooperation brings tangible benefits

Yang Yihang, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco.

The development of China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation has brought tangible benefits to the people and enterprises of both countries, and U.S. states are enthusiastic to cooperate with China, said Yang Yihang, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco.

Yang made the remarks during his address at the China-U.S. Entrepreneur and Investment Summit and People’s Daily Online Global Partners Conference held in Silicon Valley, June 21.

In 2017, China-U.S. trade volume reached $583.7 billion, which is 233 times the figure in 1979 when the two countries first established diplomatic relations, Yang pointed out.

He explained that China’s trade volume with the five states within the San Francisco Consulate General accounted for 35 percent of that with the U.S. as a whole, with China remaining the top trading partner of these five states. Yang explained that last year, General Motors (GM) suffered a 10.9 billion yuan loss in global profit, but its two Chinese branches registered a profit of 13.3 billion yuan ($196 million).

The San Francisco Consulate General recently organized more than 10 Chinese new energy enterprises to visit three American states. The Chinese firms were warmly greeted by the American governments and firms, Yang added.

The California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development noted that the state will continue to expand cooperation with China no matter how the policies of the U.S. federal government may change. China and US enterprises are highly complementary that the American firms have strengths in technology and management, while Chinese enterprises can help American firms enter the Chinese market, and together they can even explore market in countries along the Belt and Road, Yang said.

Yang said that Chinese enterprises have a strengthened confidence in investing in the U.S. and expect more tangible cooperation projects, adding that the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco will strive to promote pragmatic cooperation on local levels and between entrepreneurs.