China calls on US businesses to play ‘bridging role’ as trade talks stall

Deputy foreign minister Xie Feng has met with influential members of the American business community

Xie outlined Beijing’s view on bilateral ties, while pledging to protect foreign firms and continue ‘opening’

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Dialogue has stalled between the world’s two largest economies, with little recent progress made in trade negotiations. Photo: AP

Published: 8:30pm, 21 Dec 2021Updated: 11:21am, 22 Dec 2021

American businesses should play a “bridging role” between China and the United States and “actively” contribute to a healthy and stable bilateral relationship, Beijing says.

The comments from deputy foreign minister Xie Feng come as dialogue stalls between the world’s two largest economies, with little recent progress in trade negotiations despite President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden holding a virtual meeting a month ago.

Instead, the two sides continue to spar over a variety of issues, including Biden’s invitation of Taiwan and not China to the Summit for Democracy earlier this month, and Washington’s lead role in a boycott of the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics.

In a rare move, Xie last Wednesday met with Timothy Stratford, a former Assistant US Trade Representative for China Affairs and chairman emeritus of the American Chamber of Commerce in China; and Sean Stein who previously served as US Consul General in Shenyang and Shanghai.

American businesses should play a bridging role and actively contribute to the healthy and stable development of China-US relations

Xie Feng

Both are well regarded and influential in the American business community. Stratford heads the Beijing office of global law firm Covington & Burling LLP, while Stein is a senior adviser to its public policy practice group.