China US Photo:VCG

The American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), in general, is not in favor of tariffs, Michael Hart, President of AmCham China, told the media on the sidelines of the Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit 2025 held on Thursday in Beijing.

"My hope is that we can make trade tariffs between the two as low as possible, and trade as open as possible. But if that isn't the case, then both sides will retaliate," said Hart.

My hope is that in the next 90 days, the US and China will find a way to negotiate. I'll be honest, I'm not sure how much will be done in 90 days, but at least there is the intent for the two sides to talk to each other. That's positive, Hart said, adding that "We are pleased to see the two sides have a mechanism to talk about this for the next 90 days."

In terms of the trade potential and cooperation between China and the US, Hart stressed that the trade between the US and China is beneficial. "I think that both countries have large consumer markets, and both countries have companies that lead in certain areas and technologies. We've benefited from trade for the last 40 years. No reason we shouldn't continue to benefit from trade going forward."

"The US and China are the two largest economies in the world, our supply chains are global. We're all connected in ways that many of us don't fully understand and appreciate, but we are very connected. And it's very important that the two largest economies in the world continue to cooperate and work together," said Hart.

He noted that there are plenty of areas where the US could cooperate with China. China continues to be a place with advanced manufacturing and with a strong supply chain base. The US continues to have a strong agricultural sector that continues to export to China. The US and China continue to need each other.

"It's in our best interest that the governments find a way to cooperate, so our companies can continue to benefit, and our consumers can continue to benefit," said Hart.

Speaking of future cooperation areas, Hart said that artificial intelligence (AI) is a place where both countries have said they would like to find ways to cooperate on AI.

"I think it's critical for the whole world that China and the US do find ways to cooperate on AI because this is a technology that can change almost every sector," said Hart.

He mentioned that his colleagues at the AmCham China experimented with different AI technologies.

"I think as consumers, we should all be happy that we have Chinese AI tools, we have US AI tools, and hopefully, they will continue to innovate and work together so that we can all benefit. But it is a place where there's competition and hopefully there will be cooperation," Hart said, adding that the US and China should continue to cooperate with AI. It's an area for the whole world that we need to work on.

Global Times