Despite trade disputes and the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. companies including Tesla and Dell vowed to remain optimistic about China's development and will further engage the Chinese market at a round-table meeting with China's top economic planners late Tuesday.
A total of 60 representatives from 47 American companies and organizations participated in the first of a series of discussions designed to help them better understand China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035.
Tesla is among the American firms on-site and taking note. The electric car maker posted record deliveries in the first quarter of 2021, largely thanks to China's robust sales.
The company started selling its locally-made Model Y in January and said the demand for less expensive models has helped offset the impact of a global shortage of parts.
"The China market has done very well for Tesla, helping the company hit sales targets," said Grace Tao, vice president of Tesla China.
Elon Musk's company is in dispute with the U.S. government over a 25-percent tariff on certain parts it imports from China. Volvo, Ford and Mercedes-Benz have also sued the Office of the United States Trade Representative over "unlawful tariffs" that have raised their production costs.
But brushing aside trade frictions, the tech giant remains optimistic about the world's biggest electric vehicle market and intends to benefit from China's ambition to become carbon neutral within three decades.
"We believe any challenges in China-U.S. relations are temporary. As a maker of electric vehicles, our top priority is understanding how we can help China achieve its carbon emission targets," Tao said.
China wants a fifth of its new vehicles – over 4 million units – to be new energy vehicles by 2025.
"China is our biggest market outside the U.S., the government's opening-up measures will offer more growth opportunities," said Zhou Bing, global vice president of U.S. tech giant Dell Technologies, who also spoke highly of China's improved business environment.
With the pandemic causing the deepest global recession in decades, China has emerged as a lifeline for U.S. companies suffering elsewhere. The contrast is evident in the consumer market, with many analysts expecting retail sales to return to yearly growth in China in the third quarter.
Starbucks is an example of U.S. companies finding refuge in China's recovery. Sales in the country rose 5 percent from a year ago in the first quarter of 2021, even as its global sales declined by the same margin.
A new survey by the American Chamber of Commerce shows over 60 percent of American firms still consider China their top market for near-term investment.
"Amid growing protectionism and a global recession, we must make full use of our huge market potential to help drive global recovery," said Ning Jizhe, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
China will continue to shorten the negative lists for foreign investment access where foreign investments were limited or prohibited, according to Zhang Zhiqing, deputy director of the Department of Foreign Capital and Overseas investment at the NDRC.
The government has also vowed to actively promote foreign investment in areas such as advanced manufacturing, high technology, energy conservation and environmental protection.
Citing China's containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, two-thirds of economists in another survey by Nikkei predict China will overtake the U.S. to become the world's largest economy between 2030 and 2034.