Encouraging signs for US-China business ties in cloud computing access talks

US Chamber of Commerce expresses hope at China Institute panel discussion as trade war talks near conclusion

Chinese concessions on intellectual property and access to markets address key industry concerns

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The US Chamber of Commerce – which includes IBM, Amazon and Microsoft among its membership – has heard there are hopeful signs that US-China business ties may grow again. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:45am, 12 Apr 2019Updated: 9:54pm, 12 Apr 2019

News that China may be moving to open its cloud computing market and address intellectual property protection amid recent high-level bilateral talks are “encouraging” signs, a US industry association that counts IBM, Amazon and Microsoft as members said on Thursday.

Signs that Beijing is addressing issues including financial support for domestic tech industry players, access to key markets – cloud computing in particular – suggest that US-China business ties might grow again, Jeremie Waterman, president of the US Chamber of Commerce’s China Centre, said.

“I think China is listening,” Waterman said in a panel discussion at the 2019 China Institute Executive Summit in New York.

“I think the two sides are working very hard. It’s not the usual practice to have shuttle diplomacy going on at the level of cabinet-level officials, and certainly with Vice-Premier Liu He going back and forth, so I think that’s very encouraging, and the reported progress on cloud, that’s also encouraging.”

Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal have reported this week that China has offered to open its cloud computing sector to foreign companies in a bid to conclude a deal that will end a bilateral trade war that started last year.

An agreement appears closer following US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s comments on Wednesday that China and the US have agreed to set up enforcement offices to monitor implementation of trade pledges. Mnuchin spoke after confirming that he had a “productive” phone conversation with Liu a day earlier.