China’s Ministry of Commerce and the City of Chicago signed a trade and investment agreement Monday. The agreement facilitates trade between Chicago and 8 Chinese cities.
This is the first trade deal between cities of China and the U.S. was signed.
The agreement is a result of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the U.S. last year, it also follows last week’s China-U.S. Joint Commission of Commerce and Trade talks.
The agreement is a result of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the U.S. last year, it also follows last week’s China-U.S. Joint Commission of Commerce and Trade talks.
In 2012, total trade between China and Chicago reached 55.5 billion U.S. dollars, which takes up about 11% of the total China-US trade for the same period.
The agreement signed today covers 8 Chinese cities including Beijing & Shanghai. This is a good boost for future China-US relationship, but some companies have some bitter words to say.
The problem lies at the executive level..where some U.S. companies fear that Chinese companies will take their positions in the market, and some Chinese provincial governments are also doing the same thing to protect local businesses. I think the resolution is that policies should be made based on the necessities of companies, and that both sides need to realize that more competition in the long term will help the companies grow stronger.
"I believe the agreement will further help China and the U.S. develop a better trade relationship, and will also boost economic activities between Chinese provinces and U.S States," said Ma Weigang, Director general of Bureau of Commerce of Qingdao, China.
Source: CCTV
