by Xinhua writer Xiong Maoling
WASHINGTON, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Maintaining strong economic and trade relations between the United States and China, the world's "two largest, most dynamic" economies, is "absolutely essential," Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), has said.
Over the past four decades, both China and the United States "have benefited tremendously from the robust economic relationship," Stein said in an interview with Xinhua recently.
He emphasized that even amid challenges, it is vital to remember the substantial benefits the relationship brings to both peoples.
"It's just impossible for either economy to function as well as it can without a strong and viable relationship with the other," he said.
Against the backdrop of Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the United States, Stein highlighted the value of head-of-state diplomacy.
For most U.S. companies, the size of the Chinese market is not the only reason to remain in China. The country's "huge amount of innovation" is also an important factor, he said, calling China one of the most innovative places in the world.
In the past, the future may have been shaped more often in Japan, the United States, or Europe; but now, an increasing number of fields are seeing the future being created in China, he said. "If you want to see the future, the only place to see it is by being here (China)."
Stein believes that it is "essential" for U.S. companies to maintain a presence in China to conduct their own research and development.
"There's a huge amount of innovation taking place in China, and it's important to be on the ground to see and understand that innovation, and also to take advantage of the high quality of Chinese workers and Chinese research," he said.
In the life science sector, for example, innovation in China is creating new opportunities for U.S.-China cooperation, with a great deal of innovation emerging in areas such as drug discovery and cancer treatment, Stein said.
"In many cases, the Chinese companies that are good at identifying potential molecules that could go into a medical treatment or into a new drug aren't yet as experienced at understanding how to do the drug trials or how to get global approval for new medicines or how to scale production, and so that creates some very natural partnerships between some of the rising players in China and some of the established players globally," he said.
At the same time, the USCBC president noted that foreign companies investing in China "actively" seek "Chinese partners that can help fill in for some of their weaknesses."
Stein described this as a story of the development of Chinese companies, which have become peers of foreign firms, and by working together, they can be more competitive, agile and successful.
Founded in 1973, the USCBC describes itself as a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit association representing around 270 U.S. companies doing business in China, including most of the largest U.S. companies operating there.
Looking ahead, Stein highlighted that the majority of U.S. companies remain optimistic about their prospects in China over the next five years, indicating that they have no plans to leave the Chinese market. Meanwhile, more than half of USCBC member companies plan to continue investing in China this year, he noted.
"That's also, I think, a vote of confidence in both the importance of the economic relationship as well as showing optimism for the future of not just the U.S.-China relationship, but also of China and its own economy," Stein said. ■