'Infinitely vast' room eyed for China-US cooperation

President Xi Jinping has emphasized that China is prepared to stay in communication with the United States to expand cooperation, manage differences, continue exploring the right way to get along with each other in the new era, and realize long-term, peaceful coexistence to the benefit of the two countries and the world at large.

Xi made the remarks on Wednesday in a congratulatory letter to the 2024 Gala Dinner of the US-China Business Council.

Noting that the China-US relationship concerns not only the immediate interests of the two peoples, but also the future and destiny of all humanity, Xi said: "We both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. We should choose dialogue over confrontation, and win-win cooperation over zero-sum games."

In his letter, Xi expressed his "sincere greetings" to people from various sectors in the US who have been caring for and supporting business cooperation between the two countries, hoping they would continue to care for and support such collaboration.

The annual event, themed "Managing US-China Relations in 2025 and Beyond", was attended by business leaders, officials, scholars, and other stakeholders in the US-China commercial relationship.

In his letter, read out by the Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng, Xi told the US business community that the interests of the two countries are closely intertwined, and the room for cooperation is "infinitely vast".

Xi also said that China will always uphold the basic State policy of opening up to the outside world.

"Chinese modernization, with its new achievements, will provide new opportunities for the world," he said.

The US-China Business Council represents more than 270 US companies that do business in China.

Its 2024 member survey results, released in September, found that 80 percent of the US businesses surveyed were profitable in China in 2023, and that 72 percent of respondents expected that the profit margins of their operations in China would be equal to or greater than their global average in 2024.

In a letter to the gala read by Marisa Lago, US undersecretary of commerce for international trade, US President Joe Biden expressed his appreciation for USCBC's legacy of supporting commercial relations between the US and China.

"In the face of issues too big for any nation to solve alone, like the climate crisis and ensuring global food and health security, it is more important than ever that the United States and the People's Republic of China work together," Biden said.

As the China-US relationship is ushering in a new year in which the US has a new administration, Xie, the Chinese ambassador, said he expects that the US will work with China and "ensure a smooth transition of the bilateral relationship and get it off to a good start".

"We believe a major country should stay steadfast in a shifting landscape, and have the wisdom to open up new horizons amid changes," Xie said. "China's goal of a stable, healthy, and sustainable China-US relationship remains unchanged."

The USCBC Gala 2024 paid special tribute to Craig Allen, who is stepping down after leading the council since July 2018.

In his remarks as the distinguished honoree, Allen reflected on the history of US-China engagement, emphasizing that "the ability to keep commerce, ideas, people and investments flowing between the US and China will be a key determinant — perhaps the key determinant — of global peace and stability for the decades and even the centuries ahead", according to a release from the USCBC.

Sean Stein, the incoming USCBC president, reiterated in his closing remarks at the gala the organization's "enduring commitment to preserving the US-China commercial relationship", according to the release.

Zhang Yunbi in Beijing contributed to this story.