Prospects of US-China relations promising in various areas: think tank

Chinese Consul General in Chicago Hong Lei addresses the US-China Think Tank Symposium in Des Moines,Iowa, the United States, June 12, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Statistics also show a rosy picture of China-US partnership in terms of education and investment.

According to a report published by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May 2016, the United States is Chinese students' top destination for studying abroad, as some 353,000 Chinese students account for 34 percent of the total number of international students in the United States, said Hong.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce estimated that Chinese students studying in the United States spent about $45,000 per person in 2016, contributing around $15.9 billion to the US revenue.

US-invested enterprises in China have maintained good performance and gained high profits. In 2016, the total revenue of US-funded banks, insurance and security companies reached $48 billion, Hong said.

In the meantime, Chinese investment in the United States is growing rapidly. A report by the National Committee on US-China Relations and Rhodium Group indicated that Chinese enterprises invested $45.6 billion in the United States in 2016, a 200-percent increase from the previous record set in 2015.

Earlier on Sunday, Chinese think tank researchers visited Kimberley Farm, where they exchanged views with farm owner Rick Kimberley on management of modern farms and also on agricultural exchange between the two countries.

As a witness to the booming agricultural ties between China and Iowa, the Kimberley family is not only exporting soybeans to China, but also introducing their advanced farming technology to China, the largest soybean export market for the United States.

A model farm which will be fashioned after the Kimberleys' one is set to be built next year in north China's Hebei province, a sister province of Iowa.

"China-US relations are not only about the government-level exchanges, but more importantly lie in the exchanges between people from the two countries. The close people-to-people exchanges could further contribute to the development of bilateral relations," said Zhao after visiting the Kimberleys' farm.

"I'm very impressed by American farmers' strong emphasis on the importance of stable bilateral economic relationship," said Wei Jianguo, China's former vice-minister of commerce.

According to a report released by the US-China Business Council, the US-China trade relationship actually supports roughly 2.6 million jobs in the United States across a range of industries.