Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York city, said here on Tuesday that the United States and China had every interest in their mutual continued growth.
"America needs a strong, growing Chinese economy, because you are one of our major trading partners," Bloomberg told reporters after delivering a speech at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, one of the country's top government think tanks.
According to the latest statistics from China's General Administration of Customs, China-U.S. trade volume between January and November stood at 276.21 billion U.S. dollars, up 15.7 percent year-on-year.
Official figures show that the United States is China's second-largest trade partner, after the EU. China has been the most robust export growth market of the United States during the past five years.
"Today's economy is so intertwined. We are partners on some things. We are competitors on others," said Bloomberg.
The United States and China are customers of each other, and the two have broad interest in economic growth and information exchange, among others, said the mayor.
Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi praised the U.S. administration's efforts in blocking protectionist legislation against China. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 18th Sino-U.S. Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) here on Tuesday, she assured U.S. officials in attendance that China's door would stay wide open to the world.
Wu urged both sides to be far-sighted, think strategically and facilitate consultation and collaboration.
"Imposing restrictions on normal trade or resorting to protective measures will only be detrimental to the interests of both sides and useless in resolving problems," Wu said.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez described the JCCT as an "important institution" in Sino-U.S. ties, adding that the one-day meeting and the upcoming Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) could give the world confidence that the United States and China were "both committed to openness".
As to the impact of the U.S. subprime mortgage problem on the economy, Bloomberg said that while banks' losses were extensive, they would not wipe out U.S. companies.
"It will not bring down the economy of the United States but will probably slow it. We will walk our way through this, and I suspect there is another year or so," he added.
Bloomberg also told the media that a weak U.S. dollar has been a boom to many industries in the United States, including exports and tourism. But in the long run, he said "there are good arguments for a stronger dollar".
Source: Xinhua
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