China-US Relations: Senior Chinese diplomat urges better communication on views & intentions

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Every year, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania hosts a China summit organized by the school's Chinese students. This year, the event is drawing even more attention than usual thanks to the rising tensions between the US and China. CGTN's Karina Huber has more.

The looming threat of a trade war between the world's two biggest economies took center stage at the Wharton School of Business's annual Penn Wharton China Summit.

Top Chinese official Fu Ying was one of the headline speakers.

FU YING, VICE CHAIRPERSON FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF NPC "In the past few weeks, the US is threatening tough trade measures against China, putting more strains in our relationship. So, the question is where does the current US administration want to take our relationship?"

US President Donald Trump says he is seeking fairer trade with China and wants the country to make more efforts to protect US firms' intellectual property.

Fu said China's growing economy and rising stature on the world stage is part of what's driving distrust of China in some countries.

FU YING, VICE CHAIRPERSON FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF NPC "We're increasingly aware of the responsibilities we need to shoulder for the world and the expectations and concerns from the world. We need to communicate better our views and intentions and in a prompt and convincing manner so that the world can better understand us."

The event's organizers said they hoped summits like theirs could help narrow that trust deficit.

SHIRLEY LIU, CO-PRESIDENT PENN WHARTON CHINA SUMMIT "There's always been the China side and the US side, but we want to be the bridge to kind of be the platform to unite both sides."

NI RUOYANG, CO-PRESIDENT PENN WHARTON CHINA SUMMIT "Our perspective doesn't only represent China's view of how things are going but also a more international view of the entire U.S./China relationship because we have come here. We have taken a western education. We have understood the issue from a more holistic standpoint."

KARINA HUBER PHILADELPHIA "The China U.S. relationship could face more challenges this week. The Trump administration is reportedly planning to threaten to block Chinese technology investments in the U.S. and is expected to unveil another list of Chinese imports targeted for tariffs. Karina Huber, CGTN, Philadelphia."