Pandemic’s Impact On China’s Economy Is Only Short Term, U.S. Ambassador Says

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on China’s economy is only short-term, China Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang said a keynote speech at the 4^th U.S.-China Business Forum organized by Forbes China in New York on Tuesday.

“The fundamentals of the Chinese economy for long-term, steady performance remain unchanged,” he said at the end of the event organized around the theme “New Paths Forward.”

“The biggest driving force for the ‘new paths forward’ for China-U.S. economic and trade ties is the bright prospects of China’s economic growth,” Qin said.

China’s GDP — the world’s second largest, grew by 4.8% in the first quarter from a year earlier. That slowed to 0.4% amid Covid lockdowns that disrupted global supply chains.

“The basic features of the Chinese economy — full potential, great resilience, strong vitality, vast room for maneuver and plenty of policy tools — remain unchanged,” Qin said. “The various advantages of China’s development remain unchanged. We have full confidence in the future of the Chinese economy.”

“Despite the complexities and difficulties for the Chinese economy at home and abroad, we have effectively coordinated Covid response and economic and social development, and implemented a package of policy measures to stabilize economic performance,” Qin said.

The biggest feature of ‘new paths forward’ collaboration between the U.S. and China should be a continued emphasis on win-win outcomes, Qin said.

“China-U.S. economic and trade cooperation has been in place for more than 40 years. Our industries are deeply integrated, and our trade is highly complementary. The model of win-win cooperation has been there for a long time. American companies, who trade with China and who invest and do business in China, all know this, and they know it well. They have keenly felt that China-U.S. trade cooperation is win-win.”

“We should be optimistic about the future, but we should also face up to the difficulties on our path forward,” he added, criticizing U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last week as well as views of China as a strategic rival to the United States.

“The China-U.S. relationship is at a crossroads. Using strategic competition to define our ties, taking China as the primary competitor and most serious long-term challenge — such misperception and misjudgment will only raise the tension and lead our relations to the track of confrontation and conflict, and put even more pressure on our economic and trade cooperation,” Qin said.

The 4^th U.S.-China Business Forum, held at Forbes on Fifth in New York, was organized by Forbes China, the Chinese-language edition of Forbes. The gathering was held in person for the first two since 2019; it was held online in 2020 and 2021 during the height of the Covid 19 pandemic.

Other speakers included George Wang, vice chairman of Zhonglu Group; Wei Hu, Chairman, China General Chamber of Commerce – USA; James Shih, vice president, SEMCORP; Abby Li, Director of Corporate Communication and Research, China General Chamber of Commerce; Audrey Li, Managing Director, BYD America; Lu Cao, Managing Director, Global Corporate Bank, Corporate & Investment Bank, J.P. Morgan.

Also speaking were Stephen A. Orlins, President, The National Committee on United States-China Relations; Sean Stein, chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Ken Jarrett, Senior Advisor, Albright Stonebridge Group; John Quelch Dean Emeritus and Honorary Chairman of the International Advisory Board at CEIBS; Dr. Bob Li, Physician Ambassador to China and Asia-Pacific, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; and Yue-Sai Kan, Co-Chair, China Institute.

@rflannerychina