Chamber Welcomes Progress in U.S.-China Dialogue

High-Level Dialogue, Not Unilateral Action, Key to Achieving a More Balanced Commercial Relationship

WASHINGTON, DC—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its strong support for the tangible achievements of both the Chinese and American governments at the second session of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) held in Washington this week.

"The SED, under the leadership of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi, provides a timely and important opportunity to make genuine, visible progress in expanding and balancing our commercial relationship," said Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "The Chamber will continue to back both governments in the SED as they develop a stronger framework for relations between our two countries."

The U.S. Chamber said it was encouraged by agreement on next steps in the areas of financial services, energy and the environment, and civil aviation. The Chamber also endorsed the two governments' efforts to increase the sharing of customs information to crack down on intellectual property violators and to lay the foundation for a more comprehensive discussion on policies to promote innovation.

Donohue looked forward to the next opportunity to continue the discussions between the two countries. "We urge both sides to use the momentum generated to take additional steps on outstanding issues, including at the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meeting later this year.

"The best antidote to increasing scrutiny of the trading relationship in Congress is to achieve concrete results through high-level dialogue. The SED provides a vital platform to both aid China's successful integration into the global economy and produce meaningful results that benefit American workers and businesses, something that the U.S. Chamber strongly supports," Donohue concluded.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

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