The American pavilion at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) Photo: Chen Xia/GT

The sight of US farmers setting up their exhibitions at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) underscores how they value the Chinese market, and the very large Chinese market is "a good thing" for American businesses, Jeffrey Lehman, chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), told the Global Times in an interview during the CIIE on Thursday.

"Our exhibition here, our pavilion here, with all of these exhibitors from the agriculture sector, shows how much our agriculture sector values the opportunity to sell its products in China. I think the stabilization [of China-US trade ties] now is very good for our agricultural sector," Lehman said.

There are 19 exhibitors at the US agriculture pavilion at this year's expo, he said, noting that the exhibits span the full range of products from very big companies like Cargill to wine, ginseng, soybeans, poultry and other things.

"The Chinese market is wonderful. It's very large, and it has a very, very discerning population of consumers - people know quality, people know value. And that's a good thing for American businesses," he said.

Lehman has spoken highly of the CIIE as an extraordinary way to bring potential buyers and potential sellers together. It enables people to learn about buying and selling opportunities that they might not be aware of. This is a natural partnership, and AmCham Shanghai is very proud to be able to participate and to support the CIIE in its work, he said.

American companies have maintained the largest exhibition area for the seventh consecutive year, according to the organizer. In addition to agricultural companies, large US firms including Tesla and Honeywell are present.

The active participation of US companies in the CIIE came after the meeting between the heads of state of the two countries in Busan, South Korea.

"The period during the six months before the meeting was a period of uncertainty. It was very challenging for the American business community. Now there is a stable framework for the next year. I think there's a lot of hope and a lot of optimism in the American business community that we will be able to make more concrete plans and to continue to expand the commercial relationship between the US and China," Lehman said.

Li Chenggang, China international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce and vice-minister of commerce, said during a meeting with a US agricultural trade delegation in Beijing on Tuesday that sound China-US economic and trade relations benefit not only both countries but also the world, according to a statement on the ministry's website.

Since May, the two sides have held five rounds of talks under the strategic guidance of the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, helping stabilize trade ties. This fully demonstrates that guided by the principles of equality, mutual respect and reciprocity, China and the US can find solutions through dialogue and cooperation, Li said.

The US business community's active attitude to carry out commercial cooperation with China reflects the attractiveness of the huge Chinese market and the country's strengthening consumption potential, Huo Jianguo, a vice-chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The US government should listen to the voices of US enterprises and earnestly follow the basic consensuses reached by the two countries on properly addressing several important economic and trade issues of respective concerns so as to maintain a sound, stable and sustainable bilateral relationship, Huo said.