China US Photo: VCG

The Chinese market remains an important component of the global strategies of many US firms, Jeffrey Lehman, chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), told the Global Times on Tuesday, calling for a stable US-China relationship that benefits the whole world.

In response to a survey conducted by AmCham China recently, which showed that half of surveyed US companies still rank China among their top three global investment destinations, while 79 percent of respondents hold a positive or neutral outlook on the future of China-US relations in 2026, Lehman said, "I expect you will see similar results with the survey that AmCham Shanghai will publish in September."

Within the global strategies of the members of AmCham Shanghai, "the Chinese market remains an important component," Lehman said, noting that those US companies will benefit as long as they can sustain a strong competitive presence in China.

He said there are plenty of areas where cooperation helps the two countries grow stronger, for example, public health, arts and culture, and artificial intelligence (AI) governance.

"Last year, there was more than half a trillion dollars in commercial trade between the two countries, but there are other examples beyond commerce. You have scientific research concerning cancer or infectious diseases or dementia or public health more generally. You have music and dance and literature and sports and culture more generally. To pick one especially important topic, today, you have the real need to develop a global governance system to manage the risks associated with AI," Lehman said.

Lehman also called for a stable US-China relationship. "The US and China are the world's two largest economies. When the China-US relationship feels stable, other countries know that the essential context for their actions is not going to change dramatically from moment to moment," he said, noting that stability is very much in the global public interest.

"I think there's optimism that the upcoming summit [between the two countries] will continue that trend of providing a stable context in which businesses and people can continue to cooperate," Lehman said.

US President Donald Trump will bring chief executives of 16 large US companies on his upcoming visit to China, including Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple CEO Tim Cook, The New York Times reported on Monday, citing a White House list. Business leaders in the US delegation have significant business interests in China, with one US firm saying its chief executive is "honored to be part of the delegation," according to media reports. 

A Chinese expert said the inclusion of more high-tech and financial firms in the US delegation compared with Trump's 2017 visit to China sends a clear signal that importance is attached to cooperation in these areas.

The essence of China-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, said FM spokesperson Guo Jiakun on Tuesday when asked to comment on reports about China-US soybeans and other agricultural products trade. 

Both sides should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two countries' leaders, injecting greater stability into China-US economic and trade cooperation and the global economy, Guo said. 

"With China being one of the world's most irreplaceable growth markets, it's important for the US side to conduct broad-based multinational exchanges with China and strengthen cooperation through the international division of labour," Bao Jianyun, dean and professor of the Department of International Politics at the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Tuesday.