'An attentive ear' for concerns

China will reduce the time needed for approval of US business travelers

Business travel to China, which is long affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, will become more convenient under a new arrangement, cutting short approval time while facilitating work during quarantine, said Chinese ambassador to the United States in a speech to the US business community on Thursday.

Speaking at the annual gala of the US-China Business Council, or USCBC, Ambassador Qin Gang said China is implementing President Xi Jinping's direction on upgrading fast-track arrangement to provide more convenience for business travel.

"With the upgraded arrangement, the time needed for travel approval will be shorter－no more than 10 working days. Testing and quarantine will be more convenient. You can work during quarantine if conditions for the guarantee bubble are eligible," Qin said.

Details of the plan were not immediately available, but Qin said it will be shared with the USCBC, the trade body representing at least 200 US companies that do business with China.

In addition to the resumption of business travel, Qin said the Chinese side will lend "an attentive ear" and do its best to help resolve other problems of US companies and address their concerns in market access and business environment.

Qin, who took office in late July, had earlier said he will act as a "bridge and bond" between the two countries and will be a good "listener and helper" in promoting the common interests of China and the US.

At the gala, Qin said the China-US relationship is going through serious difficulties, which does not serve the fundamental interests of the two countries and its peoples.

"We must rebuild our confidence in China-US relations," he said.

During the summit held online between Xi and US President Joe Biden two weeks ago, the leaders agreed that China and the US should respect each other, coexist in peace, increase communication, handle differences constructively, while preventing conflict and strengthening cooperation.

"The summit has provided direction and guideline for relations in the new era. China will work with the US to implement the spirit of the summit and inject more positive energy into our relations," Qin said.

He noted that economic and trade cooperation has always been an anchor and propeller of bilateral relations, and China is ready to enhance such cooperation with the US to expand their shared interests.

"We need to strengthen existing cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing and financial services, and I believe our cooperation in energy in response to climate change means more opportunities to companies of both countries," Qin said.

He also said China's high standards in opening-up will provide a bigger market and more opportunities for the US and other countries.

"Looking into the future, China is set to become the biggest consumer market in the world. US companies are welcome to come aboard to share the dividends of China's high-quality development," he added.

Growth in US goods exports to China last year significantly outpaced growth in exports to the rest of the world, according to the USCBC's annual US State Export Report.

Win-win in nature

In 2019, the US exported just under $105 billion in goods to China. Last year, that number jumped to $123 billion, which increased by roughly 18 percent year-on-year, while exports to the rest of the world fell by 15 percent.

"China's economic growth has not only greatly boosted US exports, but also supported almost 1 million US jobs. This proves once again that our economic and trade ties are win-win in nature. They are not 'I win, you lose' or 'You win, I lose'," Qin said.

He added that trade issues should not be politicized, and decoupling and "building walls" would only undermine global industrial supply chain and damage cooperation and common interests.

"So we call for openness and inclusiveness. We call for early abolition of the additional tariffs. We call for the abolition of Cold War mentalities－not only by words, but by deeds," Qin said.

The USCBC 2021 gala honored veteran diplomat and a senior China hand J. Stapleton Roy, who was the US ambassador to China from 1991 to 1995.

Roy said cooperation on issues such as climate change and public health matters is necessary now, but the extent of such cooperation will be limited for a time due to the high levels of mistrust on both sides.

He said that for an extended period of time, the real competition is likely to be in the economic realm, and there is merit in seeking to "stabilize the inevitable competitive aspects of our relations with Beijing as a short-term goal".

"The strategic goal, however, should be to have cooperation become the dominant factor in the bilateral relationship," Roy said.

"It is urgent that the US restore Chinese confidence in our one-China policy. We can say we have a one-China policy, but it's quite clear that China thinks it's lip service. It's not a real one-China policy."