Sparks fly high as a worker produces engineering equipment for export at a factory in Nantong in China's eastern Jiangsu province on March 30, 2021. PHOTO AFP Despite challenges from factors such as probably slower economic growth in China over the next 10 years compared to the past, cooperation between American companies and Chinese counterparts is extremely resilient, said Craig Allen, president of the United States-China Business Council, on Saturday at the ongoing China Development Forum 2023.
US investment in China is very important, and 77 percent of what American companies make in China is sold in China for the local market and only 7 percent is exported to the US, said Craig Allen, president of the United States-China Business Council.
US exports to China reached record highs in 2022, and China remains a crucial destination for US agriculture, food, chemical exporters, and other commodities, he said. USCBC data shows that about one million Americans are employed as a result of exports to China.
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Besides trade, US investment in China is very important, and 77 percent of what American companies make in China is sold in China for the local market, and only 7 percent is exported back to the US, Allen said.
He said that this dispels the common reference that American companies are simply offshoring work to China to supply the US market.
Allen said that we had reached a new and important turning point in China's economic growth, economic reforms and its reintegration with the world after the reopening of China's borders in the post-COVID era.
He said that some problems need to be addressed to ensure that the investment environment in China will improve.
He hopes that there will be more transparent regulation and enforcement practices on data security and privacy regimes, better industrial policies, and a finer balance between state-owned enterprises and the private sector.
He also hoped that further liberalization would be considered in areas such as cloud computing, internet services, agricultural biotechnology, human genetic material, legal services, media, and entertainment.
Allen believes that China will continue to work to strengthen intellectual property rights. Fairr markets in China will lead to jobs, efficiencies, innovation, and growth.