China, US should enhance dialog to unlock China-US cooperation potential: expert

China and the United States are expected to boost dialog to tap the full potential of bilateral cooperation despite their competition in the technological front, according to the president of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Monday.

The WEF Annual Meeting 2025 opened in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday with China-U.S. relations becoming one of the key topics of discussion.

On the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump was sworn into office.

According to reports, Trump stated that he hopes to visit China within his first 100 days in office and China has expressed its willingness to work with the new U.S. administration to push for greater progress in China-U.S. relations from a new starting point.

In an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the WEF Annual Meeting, WEF President and CEO Borge Brende highlighted that the recent phone call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump sent a positive signal.

He said both sides recognize the broad common interests between the two countries and share a desire for global peace and economic development.

"There was a phone call between President elect Trump and President Xi Jinping of China on Saturday. I think that was a good start. I think it was important that the two leaders already started a dialog on peace and development or peace and stability, as Mr. Trump put it. And I also have seen that according to the American media, that Trump has said that he wants to visit China. So maybe there will be more dialog than competition," he said.

"There are areas where countries will compete fiercely. I think on the new technologies you will see strong competition between China and the U.S. as the two leading powers on the technology side, on artificial intelligence, on the Internet of Things, also when it comes to digital trade. Even in such a situation, I think what we saw with the call between President Trump and President Xi Jinping is that they realize both that there are common interests," said Brende.

China, US should enhance dialog to unlock China-US cooperation potential: expert

China, US should enhance dialog to unlock China-US cooperation potential: expert

China, US should enhance dialog to unlock China-US cooperation potential: expert

China, US should enhance dialog to unlock China-US cooperation potential: expert

Li Lan, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), said that the infrastructure at the Alashankou port, also known as Alataw Pass, a major railway port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, should be further upgraded and used intensively and efficiently to better support the high-quality development of foreign trade.

Located on the border with Kazakhstan, the Alashankou port serves as a key transportation corridor linking China with Central Asia and Europe. Freight services passing through Alashankou now cover 128 routes, connecting China with 21 countries. Cargo carried ranges from auto parts and electronic products to daily consumer goods, according to customs data.

Li, director of the port's customs technical center, has witnessed profound changes of the land port amid the country's opening-up drive.

As an important gateway opening up to the west, the Alashankou port has become one of the fastest-growing ports in terms of the foreign trade cargo throughput since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China. While performing her duties as an NPC deputy during the past year, Li focused on addressing the pain points facing foreign trade enterprises in their process for customs clearance.

"We have also conducted market research in Central Asia. Initially, we thought that our infrastructure was significantly superior to theirs. However, in recent years, their infrastructure has greatly been modernized and highly efficient. Also, their customs clearance efficiency has improved rapidly. On the other side, I think our infrastructure, including customs clearance capabilities, needs to be enhanced and further improved," said Zheng Jiahong, the person in charge of a local enterprise.

Through field research, Li discovered that a lack of standardized provisions regarding regarding the number of channels at ports of different levels, the configuration of inspection facilities and equipment, the layout of functional areas, operational procedures, and human resource guarantee significantly constrained customs clearance efficiency at the port, thereby adding burdens to logistics companies.

"In international trade, the logistics cycle is a key factor affecting the profits of foreign trade enterprises. It's safe to say that every hour, every minute counts on our cost. Saving time essentially means increasing corporate profits," said Shan Pu, the person in charge of a logistics enterprise in Alashankou City.

Xinjiang boasts 16 of the 101 land ports across China. In Li's research, she found that the primary entities responsible for port construction in various regions are often prefecture-level or even county-level governments, leading to a lack of unified standards for first-class port construction, which makes it more challenging to meet the growing demands of foreign trade development.

In her proposal to this year's NPC session, Li suggests that the National Standards for the Construction of Port Inspection Infrastructure should be revised at a faster pace at the national level, so as to provide scientific guidance for the construction of ports across the country and enable them to adapt to the increasing demands of imports and exports.

"During this year's 'two sessions', while exchanging views with several deputies from the delegation of Xinjiang, I noticed a shared aspiration that everyone is eager for Xinjiang to make greater contributions to the country's overall plan of opening up to the west. Through my thorough and in-depth research, I hope that the relevant ministries and commissions will expedite the formulation of a new edition of the National Standards for the Construction of Port Inspection Infrastructure. This will enable the upgrading of our ports, better equipping them to meet the demands of high-quality development in the country's foreign trade sector in the future," Li said.

The "two sessions" refer to the annual meetings of China's top legislature -- the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body -- the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The 14th NPC opened its fourth session on Thursday in Beijing.

NPC deputy calls for infrastructure upgrades of land ports in Xinjiang