Commerce chamber leaders from different countries voiced strong opposition to the U.S. tariffs policies and expressed a shared commitment to deepening cooperation with China at the Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit held in Beijing on Thursday.
Over 800 people, including heads of foreign government departments, international organizations, foreign business associations and global trade promotion bodies, as well as representatives of Chinese and overseas enterprises, attended the summit.
Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, emphasized the mutual dependence between the U.S. and China, urging a reduction in tariffs and continued engagement by American companies in the Chinese market.
"The American Chamber of Commerce in general is not in favor of tariffs, so the lower the better. China continues to be a place with advanced manufacturing and with a strong supply base. The U.S. continues to have a strong agricultural sector, continues to export to China, and so each side needs each other. The U.S. and China continue to need each other," said Hart.
"I was in Washington D.C. last week, we continue to say we believe that U.S. companies should be in China for a couple of reasons. One, because the China market will continue to grow, even if it's at a slower pace than it used to grow, it's still a significant market. No. 2, China continues to innovate, and so of course we want our companies to be here to understand the innovation and hopefully to participate in the market as it grows," he added.
Meanwhile, German businesses are also feeling squeezed by the threat of U.S. tariffs and urge open global trade. "Right now, is a moratorium of 90 days, it helps a bit. But it doesn't help really when it comes to securing a mid-to-long term stable investment environment. German industry is very clear. We're against tariffs and any kind of trade-risking policies. German industry is heavily depending on open markets globally, easing exports, but imports as well. We hope that there's a way out of the current situation," said Oliver Oehms, executive director and board member of the German Chamber of Commerce in China (north China).
The chair of the AustCham China, Vaughn Barber, also expressed concern over the impact of U.S. tariffs, calling them destructive due to their role in raising costs and disrupting global supply chains.
"Australian companies see it's really important to build partnerships with Chinese companies in market. It increases their ability to be able to be responsive to Chinese consumer needs. At the same time, it increases the resilience of their supply chain over time," he said.
Commerce chambers oppose U.S. Tariffs, call for closer trade ties
