As the world's two largest economies, China and the United States are set to hold economic and trade talks in France from March 14 to 17.

The meeting follows five rounds of talks last year that, according to a government work report approved Thursday at China's national legislature, successfully placed bilateral economic and trade cooperation on "a more stable footing."

The report highlighted the "positive outcomes" produced by these consultations and stressed the "important common understandings" reached by the two countries' heads of state during their face-to-face meeting in Busan.

China has taken a "reasoned, robust and effective" approach to addressing economic and trade issues while steadfastly safeguarding national interests, the report noted.

Trade benefits both sides

China has consistently emphasized that the essence of China-US economic and trade relations is mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, rejecting the notion that one side gains at the expense of the other.

In a position paper released last year, Beijing laid out five key facts: China and the US are important partners in trade in goods, bilateral trade in services maintains rapid growth, China never deliberately pursues a trade surplus, China and the US are important two-way investment partners, and both sides benefit from bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

The data speaks for itself. China's imports and exports with the United States totaled 4.01 trillion yuan (about $574.66 billion) in 2025, accounting for 8.8% of China's total foreign trade value, said the General Administration of Customs (GAC) in January.

US statistics tell a similar story. US imports and exports with China in the first ten months of 2025 amounted to $373.64 billion, representing 7.8% of the total US foreign trade value.

According to the goods trade statistics from both sides, China is both the third-largest export destination and the third-largest source of imports for the United States, while the United States is China's largest export destination and third-largest source of imports, said the GAC.

The US Exports to China 2025, an annual report released by the US-China Business Council (USCBC), further underscores this interdependence. It made it clear that China remains "among the biggest and most important markets" for US goods exports, behind only Mexico and Canada.

"Trade with China in areas like agriculture, education, travel, aerospace and more supports hundreds of thousands of American jobs," said the USCBC report, estimating that exports to China support approximately 531,232 jobs across the United States.

For American consumers, the benefits are equally tangible. Chinese imports, according to Beijing's position paper, have provided US consumers with a broad range of choices, lowered their living costs, and raised their real purchasing power, particularly for low- and middle-income households.

Expanding list of cooperation

Looking ahead, Chinese officials have repeatedly called on the US to adopt a constructive approach: shorten the list of problems and expand the list of cooperation, so as to make economic and trade relations serve as the "ballast stone" and "propeller" for overall China-US relations.

Concrete steps are already underway. In February, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) announced plans to organize Chinese business delegations to visit the United States at appropriate times this year.

The initiative aims to deepen sub-national economic cooperation and facilitate precise matchmaking between enterprises in investment, trade and technology, it said. As of February, the CCPIT had approved 119 projects for Chinese companies to participate in US exhibitions in 2026, with 30 projects already implemented.

USCBC President Sean Stein sees significant potential for collaboration. In a recent interview with CGTN America, Stein noted that China now develops 37% of new molecular drugs globally – up from just 5% five years ago.

He highlighted life sciences as a particularly promising area for cooperation, especially in addressing shared health challenges such as cancer and diabetes.

The significance of US-China relations goes beyond their status as the world's two largest economies, Stein observed. "They are the two most dynamic economies and the two most innovative economies."

This year presents a unique opportunity for bilateral engagement. In November, China will host the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Shenzhen. The following month, the United States will welcome world leaders to the G20 Summit in Miami, Florida.

For the business communities of both countries to seize this momentum, Chinese Ambassador Xie Feng has called for more efforts on both sides to focus on three lists.

Speaking at the China-US Business Cooperation Forum in December, Xie said the business communities of both countries should keep expanding the list of dialogue, support the two governments and all sectors of society in engaging with each other more often, and make better use of the China-US economic and trade consultation mechanism.

Chinese and American businesses can tap the potential for cooperation in strategic emerging fields such as new energy, new materials, aviation and aerospace, the low-altitude economy, value-added telecommunications, biotechnology, wholly foreign-owned hospitals, and other service industries, he said.

Xie urged both sides to keep shortening the list of problems to create positive energy, rather than new disruptions, for bilateral economic and trade relations.