Xi Jinping has told US business leaders that China’s economy will become more open, signalling greater market access for foreign companies. The Chinese leader was speaking during a meeting with the chief executives of some of the world’s biggest companies who were accompanying Donald Trump on a visit to Beijing.
“American enterprises are deeply involved in China’s reform and opening up, a process from which both sides have benefited,” Xi said. “China’s door to the outside world will only open wider.”
Trump introduced Xi individually to each of the business leaders, who included Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. The entire business delegation represented companies with a combined stock market valuation of about $20 trillion (€17 trillion).
Xi and Trump discussed their economic relationship alongside geopolitical issues including Iran and Taiwan during a meeting lasting more than two hours at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square. The White House account of the meeting said that Trump highlighted the need to increase Chinese purchases of US agricultural products.
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“The two sides discussed ways to enhance economic co-operation between our two countries, including expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment into our industries,” it said.
China is the world’s biggest importer of energy from the Gulf, and although it enjoys a strategic partnership with Iran, Beijing’s priority is to end the disruption to trade caused by the war. The White House said Trump and Xi saw eye to eye on the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy. President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarisation of the strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the strait in the future,” it said.
The economic teams from the US and China were negotiating in the South Korean capital of Seoul until the eve of the Beijing summit. But although both sides reported progress, it remained unclear on Thursday night what agreements they made, with announcements expected before Trump returns to Washington on Friday.
The US companies want increased access to the Chinese market, while China wants an easing of restrictions on its companies’ access to advanced semiconductors. Washington could ease such controls in return for a guarantee from Beijing that it will not limit US manufacturers’ access to rare earths minerals over which China has a chokehold.
Most big US corporations would benefit from a calming of the atmosphere between Washington and Beijing after the volatility that followed Trump’s liberation day tariffs last year. Xi suggested that a year-long truce in the trade war agreed last year could be extended for a further two years as part of a framework designed to bring greater stability to the bilateral relationship.
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“I have agreed with president Trump on a new vision of building a constructive China-US relationship of strategic stability. This will provide strategic guidance for China-US relations over the next three years and beyond,” he said.
“Where disagreements and frictions exist, equal-footed consultation is the only right choice. Yesterday, our economic and trade teams produced generally balanced and positive outcomes. This is good news for the people of the two countries and the world.”
