The flags of the United States and China fly from a lamppost in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, on November 1, 2021, U.S. WASHINGTON, Dec 2, Reuters - China will reduce the time needed for travel by U.S. business executives to no more than 10 days, China's ambassador to the United States, Qin Gang, said on Thursday, promising to listen to concerns raised by U.S. businesses.
Qin, who arrived in the United States in July, told the US-China Business CouncilChina Business Council that Beijing would work to make COVID- 19 testing more convenient and allow executives to work during quarantine.
Qin said Beijing was implementing Chinese President Xi Jinping's direction on upgrading fast track arrangements for travel, a move that was a response to U.S. concerns about the resumption of business travel to China.
He said that the time required for travel approval will be shorter, no more than 10 working days.
Qin said that Beijing would share its workplan very soon with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
He said Beijing was committed to implementing the spirit of the recent virtual summit between Xi and U.S. President Joe Biden and injecting more positive energy into our relations. Qin called for stronger cooperation in the energy, financial services and manufacturing sector.
He also called for Washington to abolish additional tariffs on Chinese goods imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump.
Marc Allen, chief strategy officer for Boeing Co BA.N, welcomed the announcement of fast track travel, and a separate decision by China's aviation authority to issue an airworthiness directive on the Boeing 737 MAX, which will pave the way for the model's return to service in China after more than 2 -- 1 2 years. Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment, Jose Fernandez reiterated U.S. complaints about China's business practices and stressed the need for a level playing field for U.S. companies.
He said U.S. concerns about human rights, including alleged forced labor, in China's Xinjiang region, and U.S. government warnings to business about the risks of operating in Hong Kong.
He told business leaders in China that they are not bystanders in the broader economic and strategic relationship. He said that you should be mindful of the ways in which your activities can affect U.S. national security and the fundamental values that we all hold dear.