The second question pertains to the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue mechanism, which was one of the four important China-U.S. dialogue mechanisms that Chinese President Xi Jinping and his counterpart Donald Trump initiated during their meeting at Mar-a-Lago on April 6, 2017. It is actually a continuation of the China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue and the China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue, but bears the hallmark of the Trump administration. The dialogue mechanism has led to very productive cooperation, including the early-stage outcomes achieved under the China-U.S. 100-day economic cooperation plan. I remember, in May last year, in this room, I answered questions from the press, including a CNN journalist. In this situation, we should cherish the cooperative relationship already established between the two countries. Coincidently, on that very day, after the press conference, the U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary said in an email to me that it was wrong to say that China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue was dead and that the U.S. cherished high-level dialogue with China, referring to a report. You can verify this. Since the two parties keep close policy communication, important information may need to be exchanged at any time. I can tell you that my reply to his email was, "I also value your message and will report this message to my superiors."

The divide on China-U.S. economic ties, in my opinion, is partly a reflection of the expectation for a more open market as well as a better business environment from each other, and partly a reflection of the aspiration for cooperation in the market. Otherwise, we can just go our own way and ignore the issues on the agenda. The challenges facing us are real, but I think the two countries have the wisdom and capabilities to solve these issues, because we have shared interests that derive from one another's interests. China and the U.S. have more shared than divergent interests, and that is the reason for this. The two countries have US$580 billion worth of trade volume and 230 billion worth of direct investment, in addition to the U.S bonds held by the Chinese government (valued at US$1.1-1.2 trillion according to the U.S. Treasury) as mentioned by the Wall Street Journal. Beyond that, the two countries enjoy the friendship between their people and build up mutual trust. China and the U.S. are two great countries and the people of the two countries are great people. Win-win cooperation is what we both desire. Thank you. 

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