Keynote Speech by Vice Premier Wang Yang at the China-US Business Luncheon
汪洋副总理在中美工商界午餐会上发表的主旨演讲(中英对照版)
携手共进,迎接中美经贸合作的美好春天
Work Together to Embrace the Bright Future of China-US Business Cooperation
——在中美工商界午餐会上的主旨演讲
– Keynote Speech at the China-US Business Luncheon
中华人民共和国国务院副总理 汪洋
H.E. Wang Yang, Vice Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China
2016年11月22日
22 November 2016
尊敬的普里茨克部长,弗罗曼大使,各位工商界朋友,女士们,先生们:
The Honorable Secretary Pritzker,
Ambassador Froman,
Friends from the business community,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
感谢美国中国总商会、美国州长协会的盛情邀请,使我有机会在商贸联委会期间与两国工商界朋友齐聚一堂。也感谢你们给我安排这样一个演讲的机会,让我能为中美经贸合作和中国投资环境做个广告。长期以来,在座各位为中美经贸关系发展做出过重要贡献,我谨代表中国政府,向大家致以崇高敬意!
Thank you to the China General Chamber of Commerce – USA and the National Governors Association for the warm hospitality and the chance to meet friends from the business communities of both countries during this session of Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT). I also want to thank you for giving me this speaking opportunity so that I can make some advertising for China-US trade and economic cooperation as well as China’s investment environment. On behalf of the Chinese government, I would like to pay high tribute to you all for your years of important contribution to China-US economic relations.
中美商贸联委会是一个有着30多年历史的机制性安排,但每届联委会都有不同的背景和任务。本届联委会最大的背景,就是美国大选落下帷幕,特朗普先生当选总统。现在大家都关心美国新一届政府对华经贸政策取向以及中美经贸合作的前景。美国怎么做,我们拭目以待,预测是困难的,如同你们预测美国大选一样。面对今天的高朋满座,我最大的感慨是,虽然美国政府要换届了,但美国工商界与中国开展经贸合作的热情没有改变。如果以今天午餐会的盛况预测中美经贸合作的态势,前景一定看好!
The JCCT is an over 30-years-old institutional arrangement, yet each session takes place with a different background and mission. The biggest background of this JCCT is the election of Mr. Trump as the new president. People are now all interested in the direction of the new US administration’s trade policy on China and the future of China-US business cooperation. As for what actions the US will take, we will wait and see. The presidential election told us making prediction is difficult. However, today’s large gathering gives me one strong impression, that is, although there will be a change of administration in the US, the passion of the US business community for cooperation with China remains unchanged. If today’s luncheon gives us a clue about China-US business cooperation, it is that we have every reason to be optimistic about its future.
中国现在是美国最大的贸易伙伴。2008-2015年,尽管全球贸易处在寒冬期,但中美贸易逆势而上,年均增速超过7%。去年美国对华出口前四位的产品依次是飞机、大豆、汽车和集成电路。美国22%的棉花、26%的波音飞机、56%的大豆销往中国,美国对华货物和服务出口创造了近百万个就业岗位。中国对美国也有大量出口,而且是顺差。不过要说明的是,中国从美国进口的不少是中国生产不了的高端产品,向美国出口的则大多是美国没有比较优势也不生产的产品。中国企业对美投资迅猛发展,已遍及美国42个州,尤其是纽约、伊利诺伊、弗吉尼亚、马萨诸塞、加利福尼亚等州,为美国创造了近10万个就业机会。总体上看,中美经贸关系具有很强的互补性,市场选择已让两国形成了你中有我、我中有你、谁也离不开谁的利益格局。
China is the largest trading partner of the US. Despite the lackluster growth in global trade from 2008 to 2015, China-US trade defied the downward trend and recorded an average annual growth of over 7%. Last year, the top four US exports to China were airplane, soybean, automobile and integrated circuit. China imported 22% of US cotton, 26% of Bowing airplanes and 56% of US soybean. Exports of goods and services to China generated nearly 1 million jobs in the US. The US is also a big market for Chinese exports and in China-US trade, China is on the surplus side. But I want to stress that many of China’s imports from the US are high-end products which China cannot produce, and what we export to the US are mostly products which the US, with no comparative advantage, no longer produces. The investment of Chinese companies in the US has rapidly increased, now reaching 42 American states, including New York, Illinois, Virginia, Massachusetts and California. Chinese investment has generated some 100,000 job opportunities for America. Generally speaking, China-US economic relationship is highly complementary. The bond of the market has made us interconnected and indispensable to each other.
中美经贸关系越密切,分歧和摩擦也就越多。有时候你越在乎对方,可能就越容易吵架。如果不吵架了,那意味着对彼此失去了信心,离分手就不远了。其实工商界的朋友们对此可能体会更深,很多合作成果常常是吵出来的。积极面对分歧、有效化解分歧,正是中美经贸合作强劲的动力。现在双方已建立了众多管控分歧的机制。在经贸领域,不仅有商贸联委会、战略与经济对话等老机制,去年还建立了经济事务定期通话的新机制。我和普里茨克部长、弗罗曼大使、雅各布·卢财长都保持着热线联系,讨论的议题大到两国重要经济领域的体制机制,小到双方具体产品的贸易。坦率地说,沟通不能解决全部问题,但增进了互信,管控了分歧,为更多的合作创造了条件。
As our economic and trade ties grow closer, we also face growing differences and frictions. Sometimes, the more you care about the other side, the easier it is to get into quarrel. If there is no quarrel, it probably means a complete loss of faith in each other, and a breakup will not be far. In fact, since you are in the business world, you should know this better. Many cooperation deals were made after quarrels. As we face up to our differences and effectively resolve them, we find the strong driving force for China-US economic cooperation. Now we have a host of bilateral mechanisms for managing differences. In the economic and trade field, we not only have old mechanisms like the JCCT and the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), but also the new arrangement of routine telephone communication on economic affairs initiated last year. I have maintained hotline communication with Secretary Pritzker, Ambassador Froman and Secretary Lew. The topics of our conversation ranged from big issues like institutions and mechanisms in important economic areas to small issues like trade of specific products. To be honest, communication can not solve all the problems, but it has enabled us to increase mutual trust and manage differences and created conditions for more cooperation.
作为全球最大的两个经济体,中美经济增势良好,为两国工商界的合作创造了广泛的空间。预计未来5年,中国进口总额将达到8万亿美元,利用外资总额达到6000亿美元,对外投资总额达到7500亿美元,出境旅游达到7亿人次,这必将为包括美国在内的各国企业带来巨大商机。为了自己,帮助别人,这是中国营商文化的重要内容。面对中国这样一个巨大的成长性市场,相信美国政府和企业也能够做出正确的选择。
China and the US, the two largest economies in the world, have both demonstrated strong momentum of growth, which has opened broad space for business cooperation. It is estimated that over the next five years, China will import US$8 trillion of goods, utilize US$600 billion of foreign investment, and make US$750 billion of outward investment. Outbound Chinese tourists are also expected to reach 700 million. All these mean enormous business opportunities for companies around the globe, including American companies. To help others is to help oneself. This is an important part of China’s business culture. I am confident that, seeing a big emerging market like China, American government and companies will make the right choice.
实际上,中美工商界已经做出了选择。上个月美中贸委会发布的《2016年中国商业环境调查报告》显示,近3/4的受访美资企业看好中国经济的增长前景,90%的企业在中国实现盈利,近一半的企业表示要扩大在华投资。今年前三季度,美国企业对华投资增长21.3%,中国企业对美非金融类直接投资增长1.8倍,这些数据可能比任何政治家、经济学家对中美经贸关系的解读更有说服力。一句话,中美经贸合作是市场行为,根本动力在民间、在工商界。如果中美经贸合作出现大问题,那不仅是对中美经济的破坏,更会增加全球经济复苏进程的不确定性。作为两个负责任的大国,合作是唯一正确的选择。
As a matter of fact, the Chinese and American business communities have already made their choice. The China Business Environment Survey published by the US-China Business Council last month shows that nearly three quarters of the American companies surveyed are optimistic about the growth prospect of the Chinese economy; 90% of the companies have made profits in China; and nearly half of the companies are ready to increase investment in China. In the first three quarters of this year, the investment of US companies in China was up by 21.3%, while the direct investment made by Chinese companies in the non-financial sectors of the US expanded by 1.8 folds. These figures may be more convincing than the interpretation of China-US economic relations by any politician or economist. In one word, China-US business cooperation is market driven, and its ultimate driving force comes from the people, from the business community. If China-US business cooperation gets into serious trouble, it will not only damage the two economies but also add to the uncertainties of global economic recovery. As two responsible major countries, we can only choose to cooperate.
女士们、先生们!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
大家都很关心中国对外开放的政策取向和营商环境的变化。到底如何看待和评价?我想举三个例子。
You are all keen to understand the direction of China’s opening-up policy and its evolving business environment. To help you make better assessment, let me share with you three examples.
第一个例子是关于开放。2012年中共召开十八大,2013年7月我们就决定接受以准入前国民待遇加负面清单的模式与美国开展双边投资协定谈判。紧接着又在上海设立了第一个自由贸易试验区,探索实行负面清单的外资管理制度。2013版“负面清单”有190条特别管理措施,2015版清单减少至122条,下降了36%。在中美投资协定谈判最新负面清单出价中,中方在银行、证券、保险、电信、文化、互联网、汽车等美方关心的领域开放度都高于自贸试验区。相信这样的进展足以表明,中国愿意让市场越来越开放。
The first example is about opening-up. Not long after the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in 2012, we made the decision in July 2013 to conduct Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) negotiations with the US based on the model of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list. And shortly thereafter we set up the first pilot free trade zone in Shanghai to explore the negative list-based foreign investment management system. The 190 special management measures of the 2013 negative list were cut down by 36% to 122 in the 2015 version. And in the latest revised offer to the US in BIT negotiations, we have promised opening-up measures that are more favorable than those in pilot free trade zones in the banking, securities, insurance, telecommunications, culture, the Internet, automobiles and other sectors that are of interest to the US. Such progress can well prove that China is ready to open its market ever wider.
第二个例子是关于知识产权保护。2013年中国新一届政府组建后,我们大力推进简政放权的机构改革,许多国务院议事协调机构都取消了,而打击侵权假冒工作领导小组保留了下来。三年多来,领导小组共召开12次会议,部署相关工作。有关部门累计组织开展150多次专项行动,共查办侵权假冒违法犯罪案件100多万件,判决7万多人。去年9月,中国公安部、海关总署分别获得国际刑警组织颁发的“打击侵权假冒杰出贡献奖”、“国际知识产权犯罪调查合作奖”。2013年11月召开的中共十八届三中全会决定设立知识产权法院。2014年第一家知识产权法院就在北京挂牌成立,随后扩展至上海、广东等地。到今年10月底,三家知识产权法院共受理知识产权侵权案件近3万件。其中,北京知识产权法院受理涉外案件的比重超过20%。以此为证,中国营商环境越来越规范。
The second example is about IPR protection. After taking office in 2013, the new Chinese government has worked hard to streamline administration and delegate powers. Even with the abolition of multiple coordination mechanisms under the State Council, the leading group on fighting infringements and counterfeiting has been retained. Over the past three years and more, the leading group met 12 times to plan for relevant work. Accordingly, competent authorities carried out over 150 targeted campaigns, investigated and handled over one million criminal cases, and sentenced over 70,000 people. In September last year, China’s Ministry of Public Security and General Administration of Customs received Interpol’s global anti-counterfeiting award and the award for international cooperation on the investigation of IPR crimes. Acting on the decision on the establishment of IPR courts taken at the third plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in November 2013, we opened the first ever IPR court in Beijing in 2014, followed by two more in Shanghai and Guangdong. By the end of last October, the three courts had handled close to 30,000 IPR infringement cases. Over 20% of the cases tried at the Beijing court were foreign-related. This proves that China’s business environment has been better regulated.
第三个例子是关于透明度。去年3月,中国修订后的立法法明确规定,法律草案应向社会公开征求意见,时间不少于30日,征求意见的情况应向社会通报。这是第一次将公开征求意见作为立法机关的法律义务,体现了中国在立法透明度方面的巨大进步。事实上,无论是颁布网络安全、境外非政府组织管理等法律法规,还是制订药品监管、技术创新等政策,我们都充分听取包括美国企业和相关机构在内的各方面意见,并吸纳了其中合理的成份。美国企业对网络安全法提出“关键信息基础设施保护的范围不够明确”的意见,中国立法机构予以采纳,列出了具体行业。境外非政府组织境内活动管理法草案规定,境外非政府组织只允许在中国设立一个代表机构,但最终颁布的法律取消了数量限制,也是吸纳了包括美方在内的各方面意见。事实充分说明,中国政策法规透明度越来越高,营商环境越来越友好。总之,我们正在朝着正确的方向大踏步前进。
The third example is about transparency. Pursuant to the newly revised Legislation Law adopted in March last year, public comment must be sought for any draft law for at least 30 days, and the comments should be made public. This is the first time China has made public consultation a legal obligation of the legislature, which demonstrates the huge progress in legislation transparency in China. In fact, we have fully listened to the views of various sides, including American companies and relevant institutions, and incorporated their reasonable suggestions in making laws and regulations concerning cyber security and foreign NGO management and in introducing policies related to drug regulation and technology innovation. When US companies raised concern about the lack of clarity in the scope of key information infrastructure protection contained in one draft of the Cyber Security Law, the Chinese legislature accepted this and listed specific industries. And when some, including American companies, expressed different views on a provision of the draft overseas NGO law, namely, an overseas NGO is only allowed to set up one representative office in China, their views were accepted as well and the quota restriction was removed in the final version of the law. Facts clearly show that China’s policies and regulations have become more transparent and our business environment more business-friendly. In a word, we are taking big steps in the right direction.
习近平主席多次强调,“中国利用外资的政策不会变,对外商投资企业合法权益的保障不会变,为各国企业在华投资兴业提供更好服务的方向不会变”。这是中国最高领导人和中国政府的郑重承诺。中国能有今天的综合国力、人民福祉,得益于对外开放,对于这样已经被证明正确的基本国策,我们为什么不坚持呢?如果我们不坚持,中国人民也不会答应。
President Xi Jinping has stressed many times that “China will not change its policy of utilizing foreign investment and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign invested companies in China. Nor will we change our policy direction of providing better services for foreign companies to invest in China.” This is a solemn promise made by the top Chinese leader and the Chinese government. China would not have come this far in comprehensive national strength and people’s well-being had it not been for opening-up. Why would we want to give up this proven basic state policy? The Chinese people would not agree if we were to give it up.
当然,现在中国的开放,不仅是如何引进来,还包括如何走出去。面对中国企业“选择美国”,相信美国各位州长都会举手赞成。否则,我这次来美国,州长协会可能不是组织欢迎午餐会,而是抗议集会。与此相应,中国企业能够在美国成立总商会,本身也是美国欢迎中国投资的成果。今天这个午餐会实际上是中美经贸合作给我本人以及中国代表团带来的福利,再次谢谢你们!
Surely, China’s opening-up today is no longer about bringing in alone but is also about going global. And I believe governors in the US will all welcome it if Chinese companies “select USA”. Otherwise, the governors would not welcome me with this luncheon, but rather stage a protesting assembly. The establishment of a China General Chamber of Commerce in the US in itself reflects US keenness to encourage Chinese investment. Today’s luncheon, in this sense, is a boon to me and the Chinese delegation thanks to China-US business cooperation, for which I thank you once again!