On June 17, 2026, the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) held its Gala 2026 in Washington, D.C. Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng attended the event and delivered a speech.

Ambassador Xie pointed out that President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump held a historic and landmark summit in Beijing in May, 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. Second, the summit has opened a new chapter in engagement between our two countries, injecting positive impetus into bilateral economic cooperation. Third, the summit has built new platforms for dialogue between China and the U.S., enhancing institutional safeguards for bilateral economic cooperation.

Ambassador Xie stressed that 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.

Ambassador Xie said that 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. Friends from the business community are both passengers and sailors on this ship. It is hoped that they will act on the new vision for the bilateral relationship, kick start more bilateral interactions, jointly foster new platforms for cooperation, strive to be front-runners in new arenas of scientific innovation, and build new bridges between our two peoples, so that the giant ship of China-U.S. relations will forge ahead on the right course of building a constructive relationship of strategic stability and sail toward win-win cooperation.

Senator Steve Daines delivered remarks at the event. U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue delivered remarks via video link. USCBC President Sean Stein held a fireside chat with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. USCBC Chair John McInerney, Chair Emeritus Raj Subramaniam, and more than 450 guests including business leaders and former government officialsattended the event.