by Xinhua Writers Zhou Qianxian and Tan Yixiao
SHANGHAI, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Steep-roofed, farmhouse-style booths stood in rows, and the air carried the scent of grain, livestock feed and fresh bread. For a moment, it felt like walking into the American countryside. This, instead, is the American Food and Agriculture Pavilion at the ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE), now underway in Shanghai in east China.
Andrew Moore, director of the American Soybean Association, crouched beside a sack of golden soybeans. He explained how the little beans make their way into everyday life in China: as cooking oil and tofu on Chinese tables, and as feed for pigs, chickens and fish.
Moore farms in a small town in Georgia in the United States. Asked what keeps drawing him to Shanghai, he said: "China is a big player in the global soybean market, and our industry has really grown along with China."
Then he added something simpler. "People do business with people."
That is what "decoupling" rhetoric tends to leave out. Trade is not just a column of numbers. It is held together by people who have met and shaken hands.
Eight years after its launch, the CIIE has become a platform where companies from around the world gather in pursuit of prosperity. They come to sign contracts, find partners and deepen access to the Chinese market, not merely to display products.
These connections were not built overnight. The U.S. Soybean Export Council has taken part in the CIIE since its launch, participating in all nine editions. Its CEO, Jim Sutter, has attended most of them. Describing the close ties between the Chinese and U.S. agricultural industries, he used a telling phrase: "hand-in-glove relationship."
Sutter recalled that when he brought a group of American farm and commodity leaders to China, the two countries were in the middle of trade friction. Still, their logic was simple: what better time to go?
"The China-U.S. commercial relationship serves as the ballast of the overall bilateral relationship, which has seen twists and turns. That's why ballast is needed," Sutter noted.
Now in its fourth year, the American food and agriculture pavilion has gathered more than 40 agricultural associations and companies and has grown to a record 400 square meters. At the opening ceremony, several agreements were signed, totaling more than 650 million U.S. dollars.
"This year's record turnout speaks for itself, as does the scale of the deals signed on the first day," said Eric Zheng, president of AmCham Shanghai. "American food and agriculture companies see real opportunity in the Chinese market. Practical business cooperation like this is what strengthens ties between the two countries, and it is how we get to a constructive bilateral relationship of strategic stability based on respect, fairness and reciprocity."
The feeling strengthens further when one moves from the agriculture pavilion to the larger halls at the CIIE. U.S. exhibitors have secured over 50,000 square meters of exhibition space this year, up 1,500 square meters from 2025, and for the eighth consecutive year they rank first among participating countries and regions by area.
That is a vote cast with their feet, reflecting a simple reality that business bonds remain strong despite external uncertainties.
China offers scale, purchasing power, industrial chains and consumer demand. It is hard to name a second market anywhere that combines all these.
The latest report from AmCham Shanghai shows that, of 262 member companies surveyed, 58 percent expressed optimism about China's five-year business outlook, up 17 percentage points from the year before.
Their growing confidence is also evidenced by increasingly diverse demand. They see the CIIE not just as a marketplace, but as an opportunity to embed themselves in China's full value chain, from research to manufacturing and supply chains.
Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, put it plainly: "The United States and China will continue to compete in some areas, but it's essential that the competition does not preclude constructive dialogue or practical engagement where interests align. And above all, it's imperative that companies from the world's two most dynamic economies are able to work together and cooperate."
The 15th Five-Year Plan also kept coming up in conversation at the CIIE. Qualcomm's Technical Marketing Director Li Yonggang noted that the plan highlights China's push to advance 6G innovation. He said the company has reached a consensus on 6G development with nearly 20 Chinese partners, including carriers and device makers, and hopes to move 6G step by step toward commercial use.
Unlike traditional trade fairs that aim to promote the host country's exports, the CIIE was created with an unconventional goal: attracting foreign products and services to China. Amid rising protectionism and anti-globalization currents, the expo gives the world much-needed assurance that a major economy remains committed to opening up.
Executives at the CIIE said they value the high-level exchanges between American and Chinese leaders, especially the constructive relationship of strategic stability between the two countries. This has created room for communication and cooperation on economic and trade issues, allowed companies and markets to form stable expectations, and provided a favorable basis for practical talks on market access and industrial cooperation.
Anyone visiting the U.S. booths will immediately sense that the world's two largest economies are deeply interconnected. China's appeal now goes beyond its huge market. Those who believe in market rules and value competition will continue to converge here, as the country has become a source of innovation and inspiration. ■
