US businesses gravitate toward China market despite trade volatility

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, September 13, 2019
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"The truth of the matter is, we've been trying to get out of China for years, but they just seem to do it better than anybody else," Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, said when asked whether U.S. companies could somehow shift supply chains out of China at a public hearing held by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

"There are limited places ... we can go," Helfenbein said, adding that the next possible locations following China -- Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh -- are simply not cost-effective.

Lack of experienced manufacturing workers, electricity and industrial clusters are also main obstacles of moving production to some Southeast Asian countries, Dong Chongqing said.

Investment welcomed

"China has a vast market. We welcome enterprises from all countries, including those from the United States, to expand economic, trade and investment cooperation with China and achieve mutually beneficial results," Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday when meeting with American delegation visiting China.

China will only open wider to the outside world and is committed to creating a market-oriented, law-based international business environment where domestic and foreign enterprises are treated equally and the protection of intellectual property is given priority, the premier said.

To further open up its market, China unveiled a series of measures, including a shortened negative list for foreign investment as well as scraping investment quotas on the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) scheme and its yuan-denominated sibling RQFII.

Having worked in Caterpillar for 25 years and now with responsibility for the company's China operations, Chen Qihua said China's business environment is becoming more open, transparent and fair.

Although the China-U.S. trade dispute increased uncertainties, U.S. companies operating in China are looking at the frictions from a long-term perspective.

"Kohler Engines has gone through lots of economic fluctuations and regional trade disputes in its 100-year-long history. The China-U.S. trade dispute causes fluctuations but will not be a disaster. We focus on long-term sustainable development," Dong Chongqing said.

The uncertainty triggered by the trade dispute is eroding global growth and increasingly challenging, and "we hope the U.S. and Chinese authorities can continue negotiations to resolve trade tensions and ensure free and fair treatment for domestic and foreign invested enterprises," Lim Yoke Loon said.

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