On the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco, Biden and Xi had their first meeting in approximately a year.
“The hope for U.S. businesses, in my opinion, is that this new tone can translate into a new normal for the economic relationship,” stated Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, which is based in Washington, D.C.
Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo, stated in a note on Friday that “for the business community, the meeting demonstrates that full decoupling is off the table and that investment in China remains permissible, at least in non-sensitive industries.”
According to analysts, the conclusion reached by US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting last week has decreased business uncertainty.
On the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco, Biden and Xi had their first meeting in approximately a year.
The Peking University Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding’s executive director, Wang Dong, told reporters on Tuesday that “I think there’s a lot of consensus coming out of this summit.”
This summit has sent a very clear message that the two nations are dedicated to, if you will, recoupling on the basis of mutual respect and reciprocity,” he stated. “This is crucial, in my opinion, for both nations as well as the global economy.”
To put it simply, China and the United States are figuring out how to work together when they can.
According to Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council in Washington, D.C., “I think the hope for U.S. businesses is that this kind of new tone can translate into a new normal for the economic relationship, where there’s a mutually beneficial relationship where China plays by the rules and the United States and China can get back to a more normal economic footing, have some of these tariffs and retaliations drop away.”
He claimed to have attended last week’s CEO Summit for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in San Francisco.
During their talks, Biden remained firm on export restrictions that were implemented due to worries about national security. However, a readout from the White House stated that “the leaders affirmed the need to address the risks of advanced AI systems and improve AI safety through U.S.-China government talks.”
It was also decided by both parties to resume military-to-military talks, which had been suspended for over a year.
Gabriel Wildau, managing director at Teneo, stated in a note on Friday that “for the business community, the meeting demonstrates that full decoupling is off the table and that investment in China remains permissible, at least in non-sensitive industries.”
“Where interests align, the meeting signals that both leaders want to avoid a downward spiral and cooperate,” the speaker stated.
The Biden administration has worked to limit American investment in and trade with Chinese firms that are creating cutting-edge technology that may be used to further military advancements. However, as stated by US officials, the great majority of trade and consumer-related business remains unaffected.
Top-down communication
Similar to the official visits by US officials to China this year, the Biden-Xi meeting sparked initiatives like the restart of additional flights between the two nations.
Tuesday saw the departure of a direct flight from Beijing to Washington, D.C. for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to state media.
Ian Bremmer, president of consulting firm Eurasia Group, wrote in a note on Monday, “I heard stories from dozens of decisionmakers telling me their versions of how their personal experiences with Chinese interlocutors had suddenly changed: promises of imminent licenses long thought dead, clarity on anti-espionage rulings, higher-level access to Chinese decisionmakers, favorable treatment by the Chinese media, and the like.”
On Monday, Mastercard declared that the People’s Bank of China had given its joint venture in China permission to start accepting domestic payments. The venture had to wait almost four years after its application was granted preliminary approval to start preparations.
Marriage as opposed to marriage
Following their meeting with Biden, Xi addressed a dinner of prominent American business executives, stating that the central query was whether the two nations are “partners or adversaries.”
The fact that so many businesses were interested in the United States and China having a good relationship, according to Gary Dvorchak, managing director of Blueshirt Group, who was present at the dinner, “was very heartened.”
