American companies must continue to conduct business in China, according to the president of the US-China Business Council, if they wish to become global business leaders.
The president of the council, Craig Allen, stated, “First and foremost, some 10 percent of American exports go to China, supporting the employment of over 1 million of our fellow citizens in 2021.”
China Consumers Prefer To Buy US Products
Additionally, 160,000 Americans are working for Chinese companies in the United States. Fuyao Glass, a Chinese company, does an excellent job of contributing to and bolstering the economies of the areas in which they operate.”
Allen pointed out on Tuesday, during a virtual discussion hosted by the US Heartland China Association on why China is important to the US heartland region, that China’s economy is as large as Europe.
As China has contributed roughly 30 percent of global GDP growth over the past quarter-century, an increasing number of Chinese middle-class consumers are purchasing American goods and services.
He also noted that the rest of the world enjoys doing business with China and benefits from the growth opportunities China offers.
According to Allen, the repercussions of uncoupling will not be felt equally. He stated that imports have benefited Americans with lower incomes. He stated that they and those who produce on farms and in factories would suffer the most from decoupling.
Allen stated that “de-risking our decoupling” is in the US’s best interest due to the extensive interdependence between the two countries and the numerous benefits derived from trade with China.
Allen believes that advocating for American companies to do business with China is a patriotic endeavor and that it is essential to actively defend American corporate interests in China despite the complex relationship.
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US Opens Embassy In Solomon Islands
Meanwhile, On Thursday, the United States opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands as its latest move to counter China’s expansion into the Pacific.
The embassy’s initial staff consists of a chargé d’affaires, a few State Department employees, and a handful of local employees. Prior to 1993, the United States maintained an embassy in the Solomon Islands for five years, as part of a global reduction in diplomatic posts following the end of the Cold War.
However, China’s bold moves in the region have prompted the United States to increase its engagement in a number of ways, including the donation of Covid-19 vaccines, the return of Peace Corps volunteers to a number of island nations, and the investment in forestry and tourism projects.
Beginning of last year, the US State Department informed lawmakers that China’s growing influence in the region made reopening the Solomon Islands embassy a priority.
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