Stable, healthy Sino-US business ties beneficial to all

The United States should work with China to continue enhancing consensus, reducing misunderstandings, strengthening cooperation, further deepening dialogue and consultations, and striving for more win-win outcomes, according to Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Sweden on Tuesday evening.

A stable, healthy and sustainable China-US economic and trade relationship serves not only the two countries' respective development goals, but also contributes to global economic growth and stability, He stressed.

He made the remarks during the new round of China-US economic and trade consultation in Stockholm from Monday to Tuesday with US lead negotiator Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Based on the meeting consensus, both sides will continue pushing for the continued extension by 90 days of the pause on 24 percent of reciprocal tariffs of the US side, as well as counter measures of the Chinese side.

Li Chenggang, China's international trade representative with the Ministry of Commerce, said at a press briefing after two days of consultation that both sides were fully aware of the importance of safeguarding stable and sound China-US trade and economic relations, and the teams from both sides agreed to continue to maintain close contact on key issues of mutual interest.

The latest round of trade talks between the world's two largest economies in Sweden was the third in recent months. All have been aimed at smoothing frayed trade relations and easing the triple-digit levies placed on each other's goods earlier this year.

In May, the two sides agreed to a 90-day pause of the previously high tariffs during talks in Geneva. US levies were set to 30 percent on Chinese imports to the US, while US products to China were given a 10 percent tariff. As of Tuesday evening, those rates remained in place.

Despite trade tensions between Beijing and Washington, the two economies remain deeply intertwined, with the US market exhibiting a strong dependence on China's manufacturing sector that will be extremely costly for Washington to unwind, said Chen Wenling, former chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

The new round of extension of tariff truce will give the world's two largest economies more time to seek more substantive and mutually beneficial solutions, Chen said.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also described the talks in Stockholm as "constructive."

In fact, economists and business leaders around the world are closely watching the next steps as tariffs have caused widespread uncertainty in most industries.

David A. Gantz, an economist at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, believes that the specific tariffs will have a big effect on the global economy.

The increased US tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper and automotive goods, and other goods imports from virtually all US trading partners, will harm the US economy, Gantz told China Daily.

Liu Min, president of Yuyao Huanchain Electric Co Ltd, a Ningbo, Zhejiang province-based manufacturer of electric wires and cables, said his company hopes for further stability and predictability in China-US trade ties to sustain its business growth.

"By continuously analyzing and responding to customer needs, we have developed new products for container trucks with strong customer loyalty, helping us mitigate the impact of additional US tariffs," said Liu.

The Chinese company recorded over $10 million in exports to the US in the first half of 2025, marking a 28.25 percent year-on-year increase, according to Ningbo Customs.

In the first half of 2025, China-US trade value reached 2.08 trillion yuan ($289.81 billion), dropping 9.3 percent year-on-year. Affected by the so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed by the US, bilateral trade shifted from year-on-year growth in the first quarter to a sharp decline of 20.8 percent in the second one, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Li Yong, a senior fellow at the China Association of International Trade in Beijing, said that cooperation based on rules and consensus can help prevent the harm caused by unilateral sanctions and confrontation. Dialogue is the only right way forward, he stressed.

Expressing similar views, Liu Ying, a researcher at Renmin University of China's Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, said stable China-US business ties can help companies on both sides stabilize expectations and better navigate uncertainties in the global market.

For instance, following talks in Geneva in May and London in June, the value of China-US trade rose to over 350 billion yuan last month, up from less than 300 billion yuan in May, with the year-on-year decline narrowing significantly, according to official statistics.

Wang Lingjun, GAC's vice-minister, said that the essence of China-US economic and trade cooperation lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

This not only reflects the irreversible trend of globalization and the inherent demand for deeply integrated industrial chains, but also underscores the practical need for business innovation and synergy, Wang said.

Xinhua?contributed?to?the?story.