On May 8, AmCham China and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) jointly held a senior business executive roundtable, co-hosted by Greg Gilligan, Chairman of AmCham China, and Li Xiaolin, former President of CPAFFC.
Attendees included Lin Songtian, President of CPAFFC, Alan Beebe, President of AmCham China, and senior executives from 13 member companies: BP China, ConocoPhillips, Honeywell, Intel, Mars, Merck Group, Cheniere Energy, ExxonMobil, Qualcomm, S&P Global, Starbucks, UPS, and Dow Chemical.
Lin Songtian, President of CPAFFC, offering remarks at the meeting
Gilligan expressed his gratitude towards Li Xiaolin, on behalf of AmCham China, for CPAFFC’s continuous support towards AmCham China. He also praised the achievements coordinated by both sides, and conveyed hopes for further collaborations with CPAFFC in furthering US-China trade exchanges and promoting bilateral cultural communications.
Gilligan also shared some of the results from the latest COVID-19 Impact Flash Survey and highlighted that most member companies are resuming normal operations. Despite future uncertainties and mounting challenges stemming from the global pandemic (e.g., travel disruption, cash flow disruption, and payment delays), Gilligan highlighted that AmCham China’s general membership is committed to China’s market.
Li Xiaolin, former President of CPAFFC, offering remarks at the meeting
Echoing Gilligan's point that, "Where there is a crisis, there is an opportunity," AmCham China’s President noted that he and the Chamber are committed to helping all 900+ member companies to navigate this period of uncertainty and difficulty. For decades, AmCham China has worked with both the US and Chinese governments to proactively seek areas of common interest and cultivate mutual trust so that the bilateral trade relationship can remain the ballast of US-China relations. Beebe also conveyed that the Chamber would be pleased to collaborate with CPAFFC in areas such as People-to-People exchanges and Track II dialogues. For example, the recently launched Social Impact Initiative project could serve as a starting point for future collaborations.
Finally, Gilligan reiterated AmCham China’s commitment to help member companies deepen their engagement with both governments and help China’s economy transition into a model that focuses on added value, quality, and sustainability. Beebe also shared three recommendations from the 2020 American Business in China White Paper:
- Rebuilding trust through concrete actions leading to greater transparency and evenhandedness of regulatory processes;
- Promoting development through policies of national treatment and competitive neutrality;
- Stimulating innovation through global cooperation and intellectual property protection.
This video conference marked President Lin Songtian’s first dialogue with foreign companies operating in China since assuming office. It helped foster closer ties among AmCham China, CPAFFC, and foreign companies in China.
This event was part of the Policy+ priority invite series. For more information about Policy+, please contact Chloe Ma at cma@amchamchina.org