Chair McInerney,

President Stein,

The Honorable Senator Daines,

Chair Emeritus Subramaniam,

Chairman Bourla,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great delight to be here with friends old and new. First, I would like to pay tribute to Raj for his exemplary leadership of USCBC, and wish Ryan every success in this new important role. Let me also express my sincere gratitude to all friends who have long cared for and supported China-U.S. economic cooperation and bilateral relations!

This is my third year in the United States. Every year, I would make sure not to miss the Council’s Gala. While the friends around us stay much the same, the world has never stopped evolving, and this has been especially true this year. Last month, President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump held a historic and landmark summit in Beijing, which has not only charted the course for China-U.S. relations once again, but also brought multiple benefits to bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

First, the summit has established a new vision for China-U.S. relations, providing stable prospects for bilateral economic cooperation. The two heads of state agreed on a new vision of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability, making it clear that our two countries will work toward a relationship with cooperation as the mainstay, competition within proper limits, manageable differences, and expectable peace, and explore a right way to get along in the new era. This has brought reassurance to the business communities of both our countries, and has also instilled much-needed stability and certainty in a turbulent and fluid world.

Second, the summit has opened a new chapter in engagement between our two countries, injecting positive impetus into bilateral economic cooperation. At the invitation of President Trump, President Xi Jinping will pay a state visit to the U.S. this fall. The political and diplomatic channel, and the economic and trade channel will continue to serve as dual drivers. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in legislative, military-to-military, public health, agriculture, tourism, people-to-people, law enforcement, and other fields. The two sides will also support each other in hosting a successful APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and G20 Summit this year. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. We can help each other succeed and advance the well-being of the whole world.

Third, the summit has built new platforms for dialogue between China and the U.S., enhancing institutional safeguards for bilateral economic cooperation. The two heads of state agreed on establishing a board of trade and a board of investment, promoting a transition from ad hoc crisis response to institution-based management in bilateral economic and trade consultations. The two sides also agreed to hold intergovernmental dialogue on artificial intelligence (AI) so as to jointly promote the development and governance of AI. All these new platforms will serve as boosters and stabilizers for bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

As a Chinese saying goes, “Only after going through something yourself can you realize how challenging it is.” After witnessing ups and downs since President Trump’s first visit to China in 2017, the China-U.S. relationship has now finally returned to the right track of a constructive relationship of strategic stability. History has proven time and again that, a tariff war, trade war or tech war would produce no winner, any effort to decouple, disrupt industrial and supply chains, or build “small yards with high fences” would only hit a dead end, and anyone trying to close others’ doors would end up blocking their own path. For China and the U.S., the world’s two largest economies, it is an undeniable reality that our interests are closely intertwined, and a well-established fact that we gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation. Going forward, upholding mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation is the right path we need to choose.

Over the past nine years, friends from the American business community have risen to the challenge, pooled support for mutually beneficial collaboration, preserved the momentum for China-U.S. economic cooperation, and made unremitting efforts to promote the development of bilateral relations. All of you deserve a pat on the back for the great job you have done! During the Beijing Summit, 17 American business leaders were invited to the welcome ceremony and the banquet. President Xi Jinping and President Trump talked with each of them, and Premier Li Qiang held a meeting with them at the Great Hall of the People. This reflects our leaders’ full recognition of the U.S. business community, and also conveys their high expectations for future economic and trade cooperation between our two countries.

Dear friends,

With President Xi Jinping and President Trump at the helm, the giant ship of the China-U.S. relationship has set out on a new journey. All of you here are both passengers and sailors on this ship. Let us pull together with all hands on deck, so that the ship will forge ahead on the right course of building a constructive relationship of strategic stability, and sail toward win-win cooperation. For this purpose, I would like to make five proposals:

First, let us act on the new vision for the bilateral relationship. Building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability is not a slogan. It should be turned into united action across all sectors in both countries, to keep expanding the list of cooperation while shortening the list of problems, and resolutely remove disruptions and obstacles. The Taiwan question, democracy and human rights, China’s path and system, and China’s development right are four red lines for China, which should not be challenged, still less crossed. When China’s Labubus do not have to carry the label of being products of so-called “forced labor”, and when American businesses can freely choose their Chinese partners without worrying about being scrutinized on the pretext of national security, then the new vision for the bilateral relationship is truly becoming reality, and both our peoples can get real and tangible benefits from it.

Second, let us kick start more bilateral interactions. This year is a big year for China-U.S. relations, with the Beijing Summit marking the very first highlight. Going forward, President Xi Jinping will visit the U.S. this fall, China will host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in November, and the U.S. will host the G20 Summit in December. All these are important moments for engagement between our two governments, and also offer rare opportunities for the two business communities to tap the potential for broader cooperation. I hope business leaders in both countries will spring into action, and bring about a steady pipeline of projects and mutually beneficial agreements. The door of the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. is always open to you.

Third, let us jointly foster new platforms for cooperation. The China-U.S. boards of trade and investment are brand new ideas. Your input and insights are most welcome, as this will create synergy between the business communities and the two governments, so that the mechanisms can get off to a good start, and facilitate and remove barriers to bilateral economic cooperation. Currently, the two sides are discussing a reciprocal tariff reduction framework arrangement on products of equivalent scale worth $30 billion or more on each side. Many friends from American businesses have told me that the basket is far from big enough, hoping to include all their products in it. I cannot agree any more. If we take into account the scale of overall bilateral trade, there is every reason for making the list of exemptions longer and the scope broader. Personally, I would argue for doubling the number to $60 billion, or even raising it to $300 billion. At the same time, we hope the reasonable concerns of Chinese enterprises will be addressed as soon as possible. Export control, restrictions on two-way investment, anti-monopoly investigations, and blacklists such as the list of designated foreign military companies should not be used as tools to suppress businesses.

Fourth, let us strive to be front-runners in new arenas of scientific innovation. Emerging technologies such as AI are profoundly reshaping the economy, human life and social governance. We need to ensure the technologies are for good and for all and develop in an orderly manner, instead of allowing them to run wild and grow unchecked. It is definitely unacceptable to seek technological enclosure, or draw an iron curtain, let alone wage a Star Wars-style rivalry in AI. As global leaders in AI, China and the U.S. are well positioned to complement each other and achieve win-win results through cooperation, and we need to make good use of the intergovernmental dialogue on AI. As the key driver of AI innovation, the business community is expected to play a constructive role, help tear down technological, market, and industry barriers, and empower innovation through two-way cooperation, so that AI will become a new frontier for China-U.S. cooperation, and also a new ladder for human innovation and development.

Fifth, let us build new bridges between our two peoples. The “50,000 in five years” initiative President Xi Jinping personally put forward has been completed two and a half years ahead of schedule. A number of American polls have pointed to a positive rebound in U.S. public opinion toward China in five years. The “Becoming Chinese” and “Chinamaxxing” trends are taking off across social media. Through reaching out to each other, our two peoples have injected fresh energy into bilateral relations again and again. It is my hope that the two business communities will continue to vigorously support exchanges at the subnational level, among youth, and across culture, sports, education, and other areas, so that more bridges of friendship may be forged across the Pacific.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

This year marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. With steady progress, the Chinese economy continues to serve as a major engine of global economic growth. China’s GDP grew 5% year-on-year in the first quarter. The actual use of FDI in high-tech industries increased by 20.3% in the first four months. Total imports and exports of goods rose by 15.3% from January to May, with imports surging 20.5%. China is further widening market access, scaling up pilot programs to open up the services sector, and enhancing the protection of intellectual property rights. We have introduced standards for domestic products in government procurement, and expanded the Catalogue of Encouraged Industries for Foreign Investment, with the aim of providing a more transparent, stable, and predictable business environment for foreign-invested companies. This year, our government will hold more than 100 “Export to China” events, to help international businesses export more to China. According to the latest member survey by USCBC, 92% of respondents reported profitability in China in 2025, up 10 percentage points from last year. For 95% of respondents, China operations are important for staying competitive globally. The next China is still China, and China is not optional, but essential for transnational enterprises. With continued exercise in China, the world’s leading “fitness club”, American companies will be in a better place to succeed in China and win globally.

As an ancient Chinese poem goes, “With high tide and tailwind, it is time to sail a smooth ride.” Let us seize the momentum of the Beijing Summit, act on the new vision for China-U.S. relations, and usher in a new chapter in mutually beneficial cooperation, so as to jointly keep the giant ship of China-U.S. relations along the course of a constructive relationship of strategic stability, sailing far and steady.

Thank you very much.