| Address at the China-U.S. Trade and Economic Forum |
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| 2009-07-17 10:33 wss |
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased to meet old and new friends here. I am leading a delegation to the U.S. to implement the consensus reached by our leaders at the London Financial Summit and take joint actions to overcome the difficulties and seek common development. This will inject new vitality to bilateral trade and economic cooperation and take forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship.
Just now entrepreneurs from China and the U.S. have had useful discussions about how to intensify trade and investment cooperation. A signing ceremony for investment and trade projects was organized. These have fully demonstrated the confidence and sincerity of both sides in intensifying cooperation and serve as a solid foundation for the building of a positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. trade and economic relationship.
Currently, we are experiencing a financial crisis rarely seen in history. It has landed the world economy in the most difficult position since the Great Depression and posed severe challenge to China’s economic development. As a large responsible nation, China has taken a proactive and responsible attitude in tackling the crisis. We have based our economic stimulating efforts on expanding domestic demand to promote growth and resolutely adopted an economic stimulus package. The statistics of the first quarter show that fixed-asset investment grows faster, consumer demand grows steadily and rapidly, industrial output for above-scale enterprises rises month by month, while bank liquidity remains adequate. All these suggest that there are positive signs in the Chinese economy. Things are better than expected. The steady development of the Chinese economy will provide more business and job opportunities for other countries and help shore up confidence in the world economy.
Thanks to the overall economic climate of the world, Sino-U.S. trade and economic cooperation has also been affected. In the first three months of the year, bilateral trade dropped by 15.7%. America’s share in China’s total foreign direct investment declined from 3.2% in 2008 to 2.6% in the last three months. History tells us that openness and cooperation is all the more important amidst a crisis. Trade protectionism will not restore growth; on the contrary, it will exacerbate recession. The fact that we bring Chinese entrepreneurs to the U.S. for investment and trade cooperation speaks volume of the Chinese government’s unequivocal position to reject trade protectionism through actions and jointly tackle the crisis through enhanced cooperation under tough circumstance.
At the G20 London Summit earlier this month, President Hu Jintao and President Obama had a successful meeting, during which both leaders expressed their confidence in the future of cooperation. As the largest developing country and the largest developed country in the world, our two economies are highly complementary. The steady and sound development of our trade and economic relations is in the long-term interests of both countries. The crisis is more of an opportunity than a challenge for China-US trade and economic cooperation. At present, both countries should work together and help each other in a bid to weather the difficulties. We need to continue to open up our markets to each other and continue to expand the scope of cooperation. In terms of trade policy, the Chinese government does not pursue an enormous trade surplus. We will continue to encourage Chinese businesses to buy more from the U.S. We hope American businesses could enhance their understanding of the Chinese market and consumers, and develop more marketable products for and intensify marketing in China. Meanwhile, we encourage competent Chinese businesses to invest in the U.S., and hope the U.S. could provide them with a favorable policy environment. I believe, as long as we proceed from the overall interests of China-US economic and trade relations and the realistic needs for tackling the current crisis, maintain confidence and join our forces, we will able to overcome the crisis and take forward the China-US trade and economic cooperation.
Thank you!
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