Chinese, US officials, business leaders meet in California to deepen mutual understanding

Officials and business leaders from both China and the United States gathered in Berkeley, California on Friday to discuss the future of trade and investment between China and the San Francisco Bay Area, with many hoping to overcome the recent strain brought by the Trump administration's tariffs.

The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade hosted a business breakfast exchange meeting on Friday morning, with the council's chairman Ren Hongbin sending out a clear message of the vast economic potential which is there to be tapped into.

"The Chinese economy is very much innovation driven. And the strategic emerging industries, such as new energy, new materials, low carbon, aerospace, bio-pharmacy and the low-altitude economy, will generate a trillion-yuan level or even larger markets. So, I think that will provide enormous opportunities and room for China and U.S. companies to cooperate," said Ren.

He further stressed the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing as an example of an event where San Francisco Bay Area companies like NVIDIA and Apple were active participants and direct beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Zhang Jianmin said that against the backdrop of a global economic slowdown, greater cooperation in the innovation sector is now more important than ever.

"The [San Francisco] Bay Area is home to many of the world's top tech companies and offers a sound innovation ecosystem. China has a super big market, rich application scenarios and a complete industrial supporting system. There exists tremendous potential for both sides to have more mutually beneficial cooperation by tapping into their complementary strengths," said Zhang.

Attendees did voice concerns over how the Trump administration's tariffs are impacting business.

With China accounting for nearly 30 percent of the Port of Oakland's total trade volume, the port's executive director Kristi McKenney stressed the need for greater stability and certainty.

"The tariffs in many cases were never actually implemented or were changed before they were implemented. So those linkages are a bit more challenging. I think the bigger issue will be certainty in the economy. And if there's lack of certainty, if we see economic difficulty, then you're going to see job losses," said McKenney.

Oakland's Mayor Barbara Lee said that it is very much business as usual, despite the recent difficulties.

"While we understand the challenges of tariffs, the exports and imports are still continuing, and our port is still a large containerized port doing business with China. And we're going to strengthen that relationship. We may have our differences on issues, on policies, but we here in Oakland understand that we're a global city and we believe the trade brings friendships, brings understanding, and also brings economic benefits to both countries," she said.

Chinese, US officials, business leaders meet in California to deepen mutual understanding

The Tengchong Scientists Forum 2025 opened in southwest China's Yunnan Province on Saturday, bringing together hundreds of scientists, university leaders, and entrepreneurs from around the world to discuss frontier research and the integration of science with industry.

More than 120 academicians and over 70 presidents of well-known universities from home and abroad attended the forum, themed "Science and AI Changing the World," discussing the significant value of artificial intelligence (AI) in empowering industries across the board.

On the opening day of the three-day event, the "Tengchong Science Award" was presented to Chinese scientist Pan Jianwei from the University of Science and Technology of China in recognition of his pioneering achievements in quantum communication and quantum computing.

And for the first time, the forum also honored nine outstanding young scientists under the age of 40.

Xu Zhanbo, professor from Xi'an Jiaotong University in northwest China's Shaanxi Province is one of them. His team has developed the world's first hydrogen-powered smart zero-carbon energy system. His breakthrough supports China's goals of advancing green technological innovation.

"I believe that as information technology continues to integrate with the traditional energy sector, helping overcome some of the technological bottlenecks of sensing, calculation, and control in the traditional energy sector, building more zero-carbon parks is entirely feasible," said Xu.

A technology outlook report was released at the event, forecasting 10 major megatrends expected to transform the world by 2049. The report predicts that artificial intelligence will reach human-like capabilities across multiple domains, which was a hot topic at the forum.

"AI will be used quite a lot in the area of advanced materials, in chemistry, in physics. However, we need new technologies. Now, we're back at the drawing desk, trying to create new approaches of the use of AI for materials science," said Konstantin Novoselov, Nobel Laureate in Physics.

Yunnan Province is China's gateway to South and Southeast Asia. The forum also aims to foster international collaboration, particularly with neighboring countries.

"Talent developments, technology transfer, joint research and development, I think these are so founded on the grounds of what we are going to do with whatever effort we have in the country, but also collaboration with ASEAN, Lancang-Mekong countries, particularly in China," said Hul Seingheng, under-secretary of state at the Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation.

Global scientists gather in Tengchong to advance innovation-driven development