Stable Sino-US ties linked to global growth

Expanded cooperation between China and the United States will help reinforce the stability of global industrial and supply chains, while generating fresh momentum in advanced manufacturing, premium consumption and innovation-driven industries, said analysts and business executives of both sides.

They also said that stable China-US economic ties are vital to safeguarding global supply chains, and the two countries have shared interests in sectors including frontier technologies that far outweigh any tariff game.

Companies are also eyeing emerging business opportunities, as the two economies remain highly complementary. China maintains strengths in manufacturing capacity, supply chain integration and industrial efficiency, while the US continues to lead in high-end consumption, technological innovation and service-related demand.

Da Wei, a professor of international relations at Tsinghua University, said that amid rising geopolitical and economic uncertainties, including growing energy security concerns surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, stable China-US economic ties are crucial to safeguarding global supply chains, supporting trade flows and strengthening long-term industrial ties.

He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization, said the two countries should place greater emphasis on cooperation in artificial intelligence and other frontier technologies, as China and the US have enormous shared interests and opportunities in trade and investment related to open-source AI, big data, quantum computing, 6G, robotics, green transformation and biotechnology.

Speaking at a sub-forum of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026 in Boao, Hainan province, in late March, Carlos Gutierrez, former US secretary of commerce, said the world would benefit from a more stable and constructive economic relationship between China and the US, with both sides ensuring that opportunities remain open and mutually accessible.

If the two sides can find ways to manage differences and establish a framework for coexistence, it could provide a model for the global system, he said.

China's strategic role in the global supply chain and its vast market are becoming increasingly prominent for US companies. Nathaniel Madarang, president for the Asia-Pacific region at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co, said that China is not just a market or a production base, but is increasingly a vibrant market, a competitive manufacturing base and an innovation hub.

In addition to operating three plants and two research and development centers with 4,000 employees across China, the US tire manufacturer leverages the country as an export platform, supplying tires from its Chinese factories to markets in the Asia-Pacific region.

Noting recent visits to China by several US business leaders — including Ray Dalio, founder of asset management firm Bridge water Associates, and Stephen Schwarzman, chairman of investment firm Blackstone Inc — Wang Guannan, spokeswoman for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said that despite mounting external uncertainties, business communities in both China and the US continue to favor cooperation over confrontation, underscoring strong demand for deeper economic ties.

With global trade flows changing and regional demand increasing, China's trade with the US dropped 16.6 percent year-on-year to $128.68 billion in the first quarter of 2026. At the same time, trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations rose 18.4 percent in US dollar terms, and trade with the European Union increased 17.6 percent, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Huang Kai, vice-president of Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical Co, the largest private petrochemical company in Fujian province in terms of production capacity, said that stable China-US trade ties are important for the company to ensure operational stability and support steady business growth.

The company imported 308,000 metric tons of propane from the US in the first four months of this year, accounting for 34.8 percent of its total propane imports, according to Fuzhou Customs.

JAC Auto Parts (Ningbo) Co, an automotive parts manufacturer based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, counts the US among the company's core export markets. Its exports to the US rose 30 percent year-on-year to 40 million yuan ($5.88 million) in 2025, said Ningbo Customs.

Yang Weiguo, the head of the company's foreign trade unit, said, "The US is not only a major automotive market, but also one of our most important export destinations, and a key import source of core auto components such as rollers and anti-collision beams."

Yang said the Chinese and US automotive markets remain highly complementary, adding that stable and constructive China-US economic and trade relations are essential to the company's long-term development and steady operations.

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn