China's industry ministry holds meetings with US businesses amid increased official exchanges

Senior officials from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have held back-to-back meetings with U.S. business representatives in recent days to discuss China-U.S. economic and trade ties and industrial cooperation, in a positive sign of improved communication amid growing official exchanges.

On Monday, Zhang Yunming, a vice minister of the MIIT, met with Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), and representatives from AmCham China member companies, according to a briefing statement from the ministry.

Zhang said that China has a complete industrial system, complete infrastructure, and a huge market size, which will provide a broad space for foreign investment and business development in China.

The official said that it is hoped that AmCham China to better play its role as a bridge and lick to help member companies to take root in China and actively participate in the development of China's new industrialization, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

According to the MIIT statement, Hart said that U.S. companies attach great importance to the Chinese market, and AmCham China is committed to contributing to the improvement of bilateral relations and the enhancement of communication and cooperation between the two countries by offering advice and suggestions for Chinese and U.S. government department.

The statement did not elaborate further on the content of the meeting. Notably, Monday’s meeting comes just several days after Zhang Guangjun, also a vice minister of the MIIT, met with Hart and representatives from AmCham China’s member companies on Friday.

The two sides had in-depth exchanges on issues such as China-U.S. science and technology (sci-tech) relations, China's science and technology policies, and how foreign-funded enterprises in China can better participate in China's science and technology development, according to a MIIT statement on Friday.

Zhang said that the door of China’s sci-tech opening-up will only become wider and wider and China stands ready to further deepen and expand exchanges and cooperation with scientific and technological counterparts from various countries, including the U.S..

Representatives from major U.S. companies, including IBM, Microsoft and Pfizer, attended the meeting on Friday, according to the MIIT.

The meetings, which apparently focused on sci-tech and industrial cooperation, comes as China-U.S. sci-tech cooperation faces mounting challenges, due to the U.S. government’s increasing sanctions and restrictions on high-tech areas. In the latest example, U.S. media reports suggested that the White House is mulling restrictions on U.S. investment in Chinese tech.

Still, the meetings come amid increasingly frequent exchanges between senior Chinese and U.S. officials in recent weeks. Following U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China in June, more U.S. officials have also visited China, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s trip earlier this month. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is also visiting China.

More such visits may follow. China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that it holds an open and welcoming attitude toward a potential visit by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, while urging the U.S. to “immediately stop baseless crackdowns on Chinese firms, cancel unilateral sanctions on Chinese firms and earnestly inject positive energy into China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation.”

The increased official exchanges have injected some positivity into bilateral ties, though many remain cautious toward major breakthroughs in relations. Chinese analysts have long called on U.S. officials to stay true to their words, in order to stabilize bilateral ties.