The successful meeting between the heads of state of China and the United States injected new impetus into the economic and trade cooperation between the two countries and provided certainty to the world economy.The interests of China and the United States are deeply intertwined, and the space for cooperation is very broad.Representatives of U.S. companies interviewed by our reporter said they are optimistic about China's development prospects, will continue to deepen their efforts in China, and will firmly be China's long-term development partner.

Against the backdrop of a tortuous global economic recovery and a complex and ever-changing external environment, U.S. companies have used practical actions to cast a "vote of confidence" in the Chinese market.This once again confirms a simple truth: The essence of Sino-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win results. Strengthening cooperation is the inherent need of both parties and is also the right choice.

Deeply cultivated in China  Building global presence

The "2026 China Business Report" recently released by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai shows that 78% of the 262 member companies surveyed will achieve profitability in 2025, an increase of 7 percentage points from the previous year, the highest since 2019; 58% of companies are optimistic about China's business prospects in the next five years, an increase of 17 percentage points from the previous year; 28% of companies expanded investment in China last year, the highest level in 4 years.Data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce show that in the first half of this year, U.S. companies’ investment in China increased by 7.8% year-on-year.

From "based on China and serving China" to "based on China and serving the world", the changes in the business strategies of many American companies in China reflect the continuous improvement of the Chinese market's status in the global production and supply chain.

Data from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai show that among member companies with Chinese R&D operations, half plan to increase R&D investment this year, with R&D investment jumping sharply from last year."China is one of the most efficient manufacturing bases in the world and is a strategic market of great significance to our member companies. These two points support the improvement of corporate confidence."” said Zheng Yi, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.Raymond Lehman, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, said: “Member companies have truly felt the Chinese government’s efforts to improve the business environment.This year, stabilizing U.S.-China relations further consolidated these gains.”

GE Healthcare has developed in China for more than 120 years and has established four major R&D and innovation centers in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Wuxi, Jiangsu, with more than 1,800 local engineers.“The stability of the Chinese market is predictable.We are very confident in the Chinese market."Song Weiqun, executive vice president of GE Healthcare and president and CEO of Greater China, said.GE Healthcare's local R&D team in China has successfully promoted more than 170 local innovative products to the market since 2011. The quantum platform CT developed by the Chinese team has entered Germany, Italy, Australia and other countries.“In the past, most innovations were in China and for China, but now many of them have been realized in China and for the world."Song Weiqun said.

PepsiCo became one of the first foreign-funded companies to enter the Chinese mainland market in 1981 after the reform and opening up. In the past 45 years, it has built a business network covering more than 70 farms, more than 50 beverage filling plants, and 10 food factories in China."China is one of the most dynamic consumer markets in the world. Investing in China is not a multiple-choice question but a must-answer question.”Xie Changan, CEO of PepsiCo Asia Pacific, said that PepsiCo will continue to walk firmly with China and be China's long-term partner, investor and co-builder, investing here, innovating here, and growing here.

The latest fiscal year performance report of Coach's parent company, Tapeschi Group, shows that the group's global revenue reached US$8 billion, and China achieved US$1.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 35%. It has maintained double-digit growth for many consecutive quarters, becoming one of the most outstanding regional markets in the world.“The Chinese market is not only an important growth engine, but also a source of innovation and a forging ground for capabilities.” said Li Lian, President of Coach China.

Stimulate vitality  Innovate and develop

China's large market provides broad growth space and rich innovation scenarios for American companies, and the technological spillover effects, management experience and global networks brought by foreign-funded companies are also continuing to promote the upgrading of China's industrial chain and the growth of local companies.

The American company Dow has been deeply involved in China for nearly 50 years. Last year, it established a thermal management materials science laboratory in Shanghai.“The Chinese market is a very dynamic and irreplaceable innovation practice platform on a global scale.Huang Yingxue, President of Dow Greater China Region, said, "The rapid response, collaborative innovation and industrialization capabilities developed in the Chinese market can help the company better serve global customers."”

Nike recently appointed its first vice president of local product innovation in Greater China to promote the integration of Chinese consumer market concepts into product innovation.Shen Kaixi, vice president of Nike Group and general manager of Greater China, strongly agrees with the forging role of the Chinese market in corporate capabilities. "The consumer insights, local innovative practices and operational experience accumulated in this process not only help Nike better serve Chinese athletes and consumers, but also provide useful reference for other markets around the world to further enhance the global competitiveness of the company."

Cheng Dandan, global senior vice president of cross-border payment platform Pianying and president of Greater China, observed that many of the service experiences, innovative practices and business insights accumulated in the Chinese market were later applied to other markets to help companies improve their competitiveness on a global scale.

About 30% of Estee Lauder Group's current global innovative products come from China and serve the Chinese market. In March this year, it officially launched the China Supply Chain Intelligent Operation Center.“The Chinese market is full of vitality, consumer expectations are constantly improving, and channels and technologies are developing rapidly, which drives companies to continue to improve innovation speed, operational efficiency and local relevance.” said Fan Jiayu, President and CEO of Estee Lauder Group China.

“This is a very dynamic market with fast innovation and strong corporate technical capabilities. Cooperating with excellent Chinese companies will naturally push us to continuously improve ourselves.Chen Liren, President and CEO of American Digital Internet Company, said that through practice in the Chinese market, the company continues to improve the quality of research and gain a deeper understanding of industry and technology needs."Chinese enterprises are important participants in the global standardization system. The experience accumulated from long-term cooperation with them helps us maintain the industrial relevance of our R&D work and enhance our ability to carry out innovative cooperation with global partners."”

Facing the future, technological innovation is becoming an important area for China and the United States to further expand cooperation.Meng Pu, chairman of Qualcomm China, said that during this year's Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm reached a consensus on 6G development with nearly 60 industry partners around the world, of which nearly 20 are from China, covering operators, terminal manufacturers, cloud service providers and automobile companies.“The development of the technology industry is inseparable from long-term investment and global collaboration.Meng Pu said that from the "5G Pilot Plan" to the "AI Acceleration Plan" to jointly promoting the development of 6G, Qualcomm hopes to continue to leverage its technology accumulation in fields such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence to jointly promote technological innovation and industrial applications with Chinese partners.

Strengthen confidence  Expand cooperation

The essence of Sino-US economic and trade relations is mutual benefit and win-win results.The two countries have large-scale economic and trade cooperation and extensive market and industrial connections. Strengthening cooperation between the two countries can not only promote mutual benefit and win-win results, but also contribute to global economic growth.

“For multinational companies, the most important thing is not short-term advantages, but confidence in long-term investment and development.Huang Yingxue said that Dow hopes that the United States and China will continue to maintain open and constructive communication and promote the formation of a more stable, transparent and predictable economic and trade environment."China is Dow's second largest market in the world and the largest market outside the United States.In the future, Dow will continue to delve deeply into China and seize the opportunities brought by industrial upgrading and technological innovation with more partners.”

“Whether companies are conducting customer planning or investment planning, they need a more stable and predictable environment.”Wu Guangyu, President of Dun & Bradstreet China, believes that the United States and China can carry out more cooperation around the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and the infrastructure that supports investment and trade between the two sides.The confidence of American brands in China in the prospects of practical cooperation between the two countries is being translated into new investments and business layouts.

McDonald’s China CEO Zhang Jiayin said that in terms of the number of restaurants, China is now McDonald’s second largest market in the world and also the fastest growing market.“We look forward to a stable, open, and predictable economic and trade environment that will support companies and partners in long-term planning, and also promote the sharing of experience and deepening cooperation between different markets.”

Shen Kaixi said that China is one of Nike's most important strategic markets in the world, and he looks forward to more cooperation between the two countries in the fields of youth and sports exchanges, using sports as a link to enhance understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

As the world's top two economies, China and the United States should meet each other halfway, take the lead in promoting open cooperation, properly handle and manage differences, maintain economic and trade relations between the two countries, strive for more pragmatic results, and be a stabilizing and constructive force for the world.