US business leaders express concern on Trump's high tariffs over Chinese products

SAN FRANCISCO - Business leaders in San Francisco Bay Area on the US west coast Wednesday expressed concern about President Donald Trump administration's plan to impose high tariffs on imported Chinese products.

Senior executives of American companies on the US Pacific West agreed that there will be no winners in a trade war, and both Chinese and US business leaders were worried about the possible punitive tariffs threatened to be imposed by the US federal government.

At a reception hosted at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco Wednesday evening, the business leaders shared the view that the tariffs threatened by the Trump administration will harm the interests of American consumers and importers alike.

Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Luo Linquan quoted Chinese Premier Li Keqiang as saying at a press conference Tuesday that China will open even wider to imports and investment.

As the world's largest developing and developed countries, China and the United States are highly complementary in economy, Luo said.

Citing the two-way investment worth 200 billion US dollars between the two sides, Luo said China has become the US biggest trade partner, the largest source of import and third largest export destination.

"A stable China-US relationship is in the interests of both countries and the world," said the Chinese diplomat.

The US state of California took the lead in conducting cooperation with China, which has become its biggest trade partner, Luo said, adding that the 481 projects invested by China in the state, with a total amount of 29.7 billion dollars, have created tens of thousands of jobs here.

"Should a trade war happen between China and the United States, the US business community would be affected accordingly," Luo noted.

Sean O'Hollaren, senior vice president of Nike, a major American multinational firm of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment, said at the reception that China is a major overseas market and production base of Nike, which has gained sound development on the Chinese market over the past years.

Nike's expanded business on the Chinese market has created tax revenues and jobs for a large number of research and management personnel in Oregon state in the US west region, where the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes is headquartered.

The US-China trade is not a zero sum game, and what China gained does not mean the loss of the United States, O'Hollaren said.