Chinese ambassador on bilateral trade: China, US can take bigger bites from a bigger pie

China’s ambassador to the United States called for more

trade between the two countries on Thursday as he addressed top US

regional officials gathered for the National Governors Association

conference in Providence, Rhode Island.

Trying to

counter the rise of protectionism in America under the Trump

administration, Cui said that increasing bilateral trade would benefit

both the US and China.

“When we make the pie bigger,

both China and the United States will be able to take a bigger bite,” he

said after being invited as guest of honor to deliver a speech at the

meeting.

Trade and investment between China and the US are

respectively worth 550 billion and 170 billion US dollars, according to

China’s General Administration of Customs.

Its data

also showed that China’s foreign trade is expanding at its fastest rate

since the second half of 2011 and China’s trade surplus towards the US

is at a 20-month high.

Such numbers will be the

subject of much talk at the first round of a Comprehensive Economic

Dialogue between Chinese and US officials in Washington DC on July 19.

At the meeting, America will want to reduce the trade gap with China

while the Chinese side will seek more respectful treatment from China

critics in power in the US.

Cui said that he hopes the US business community can

remind the Trump administration of how important the bilateral trade

negotiations between the two countries can be.

He

also pointed to “troubling developments” in China-US relations driven by

“those who refuse to let go of their outdated mind set” and “those who

play for selfish, political gains,” without specifying who he meant.