As Chinese President Xi Jinping met with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in Busan, the Republic of Korea, on Thursday, the world's attention turned once again to the strategic role of head-of-state diplomacy in steering China-U.S. relations.

According to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), business communities in both China and the U.S. remain a vital driving force and direct beneficiaries of bilateral economic cooperation. 

During the APEC CEO Summit in Gyeongju, where CCPIT is leading a delegation of 108 representatives from 47 Chinese enterprises and organizations, both Chinese and U.S. businesses, along with participants from other economies, expressed strong interest in the outcomes of the Xi-Trump meeting and looked forward to deeper exchanges and cooperation that could bring greater certainty in global economic growth.

This year alone, CCPIT has received or met with more than 60 U.S. business delegations. More than 3,500 Chinese enterprises have joined over 50 trade shows in the U.S., ranging from electronics to green energy. From January to September, the national CCPIT system issued 66,000 certificates of origin for exports to the United States.

As part of the broader APEC meetings, the APEC CEO Summit continues to serve as the region's top-level platform for dialogue between government and business leaders. Chinese companies will engage in discussions on trade, AI, connectivity and the digital economy, and China will officially take over the hosting of the APEC CEO Summit in 2026.

In other updates shared by CCPIT during its October monthly press briefing, China's foreign trade has shown continued resilience. From January to September 2025, CCPIT issued 6.15 million certificates of origin and related documents, a 17.6-percent year-on-year increase, signaling strong trade performance. Meanwhile, the Global Trade Friction Index stood at 100 in August, remaining high but showing a month-on-month drop of 15.2 percent.