U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker Delivers Remarks on U.S.-China Commercial Relationship

Statement

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today delivered remarks on the bilateral commercial relationship between the United States and China at the China Financial Information Center in Shanghai.

Speaking before an audience of Chinese business leaders, entrepreneurs, and financial executives, Secretary Pritzker called on China to build on the achievements of President Obama's visit last November and push forward deeper market reforms.

Leading the first-ever trade "presidential designated" trade mission during the Obama Administration, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Liz Sherwood-Randall, along with a delegation of 24 U.S. businesses, are in China to focus on connecting U.S. businesses with opportunities in the green infrastructure and energy efficiency industries. This trade mission is a clear sign of America's commitment to U.S.-China energy cooperation and broader relationship. It will also help further U.S.-China's clean energy collaboration and introduce Chinese investors, entrepreneurs and innovators to the U.S.'s clean energy technology market.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Liz, for your generous introduction. I never could have imagined that, decades later, we would be in China together representing our country. It is an honor to be here. And it is a particular honor to be here with you. Thank you to the China Financial Information Center for hosting us. I am so pleased to be here in Shanghai.

This is my third visit to China as Secretary, but I have been here many times in my personal and professional capacity. I have literally seen the transformation of China over the past 30 years.

This is the first trade mission of our Administration to be designated as a "presidential mission," which underscores President Obama's deep commitment to a strong and constructive U.S.-China relationship.

The central message of our visit is: with responsible partnership, we will do more business together and in so doing, we will protect and improve our environment.

Our two markets are the largest on the planet -- together, we account for nearly 35 percent of global GDP. Our populations total more than 1.6 billion people -- just shy of a quarter of the world. Combined U.S. and China trade in goods and services add up to about one-fifth of all international trade.

The size and reach of our economies mean that what we achieve together has a broad and far-reaching impact on international affairs.

As President Obama has said -- and I quote: "The United States welcomes the continuing rise of a China that is peaceful, prosperous, and stable, and that plays a responsible role in the world. And we don't just welcome it, we support it." He has worked with China's leaders to make this vision a reality -- to advance policies that promote more open and market-driven bilateral trade and investment.

As the agency responsible for strengthening America's economic ties around the world, the Department of Commerce leads the effort to fulfill President Obama's vision for our commercial relationship.

We are putting commerce back at the center of our partnership through the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade through ties of investment built through SelectUSA, our first-ever, whole-of-government initiative to attract foreign direct investment into the United States; and through trade missions like this one.

Our attitude is simple and straightforward: we want more engagement. We want to do more business together. We want a relationship with China founded on mutual interests and mutual respect.

Last December, we put this approach front and center at the JCCT meeting in Chicago. Together with my JCCT co-chairs, Vice Premier Wang Yang and U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman -- the three of us reimagined the JCCT.

We turned the dialogue into something that reflects the modern ties between the two largest economies on the planet. We made the JCCT a platform for more than just high-level government meetings. We included private sector events focused on investment, travel and tourism, agriculture and food cooperation.

The insights of both American and Chinese companies strengthened our government-to-government dialogue, which produced meaningful progress for U.S. and Chinese businesses.

A few weeks ago, our approach -- of more engagement and more business -- played out at the second SelectUSA Summit.

China sent the largest delegation to the event, featuring nearly 160 people from 80 companies, who appreciate that our markets are open to their investment.

China is the United States' fastest-growing source of foreign direct investment, and we want to continue to connect Chinese investors with opportunities in U.S. markets -- because these investments benefit Chinese firms and create jobs and growth in American communities.

The Commerce Department's effort to do more business together drove the bilateral agreement last fall to extend the validity of tourist and business visas from 1 to 10 years, and student visas from 1 to 5 years.

This step forward will increase travel and tourism between our countries, generate extraordinary economic benefits for both our countries, enhance personal connections between our young people and our families, and make travel for business and pleasure easier and less costly.

By deepening ties between our businesses and our communities, I believe this smart reform will do more to strengthen U.S.-China relations and improve mutual understanding than nearly any other policy change in years.

This visa agreement was one key outcome of President Obama's visit to China in November.

During that trip, the world also saw a manifestation of our Administration's commitment to our relationship with China. We witnessed what is possible when our nations come together and lead -- and when we pledge to do more business together, as responsible partners.

Our presidents came together to complete a landmark agreement on climate change that will reduce dangerous emissions. The United States agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions up to 28 percent below 2005 levels in the next 10 years, and China agreed to peak carbon emissions and increase the non-fossil fuel share of China's energy supply by 2030, if not sooner.

Coming from the world's two largest energy markets and carbon emitters, fulfilling these commitments will prove critical to the future of our planet and set an example for others.

Beyond the specifics of this landmark agreement, the scale of China's energy needs and environmental challenges are enormous. China consumes one-third of the world's oil and almost half of the world's coal.

China is the largest clean energy market, has more wind and solar power than any other country, and is developing the world's largest hydropower market, yet to meet the commitments made by President Xi in November, China will need to install roughly 1,000 gigawatts of clean energy capacity by 2030.

Let me put that in perspective: to meet its clean energy goal, China needs to install the equivalent of Spain's entire power generating capacity every year between now and 2030 -- all using only renewable energy.

China has committed itself to this extraordinary undertaking not only to meet its promises on climate change, but also to improve the lives of the Chinese people and to spur economic growth.

From our experience we know that prioritizing environmental conservation can create massive economic opportunities. This is why China and the United States both made significant commitments in last November's historic climate agreement.

President Xi's pledge to peak carbon emissions and increase the non-fossil fuel share of your energy supply by 2030 is bold and ambitious.

To support that vision, President Obama asked me to lead this trade mission. The goals of our mission are to expand opportunities for U.S. businesses to support China's clean energy commitments under the November climate accord that Presidents Obama and Xi completed; help China meet its smart cities, smart growth goals; bring the best American clean energy technology to the market; and foster greater private sector opportunities for U.S. firms stemming from our strong relationship in energy and environmental research.

Fundamentally, we want American companies to play a bigger role in building China's clean energy future.

China is already globally competitive in solar, wind, and hydropower, but American companies, like the ones on this trip, can supplement your capabilities.

A company like Cummins has built the low-carbon LNG engines powering Chinese buses in Beijing and Guangzhou.

Companies like Xylem reduce pollution through innovative technologies to ensure the water in Chinese cities is safe to use.

It is essential that we work together to protect our air and environment. These American companies -- and many others -- bring solutions that will help China address its environmental challenges.

But U.S. business engagement and investment in China can only happen under certain circumstances. I have heard from numerous American CEOs that they are either avoiding the Chinese market or planning to reduce their exposure here because they fear the rules favor indigenous companies or their intellectual property is at risk or they worry that regulations will change unfairly.

These fears are real and result in a lose-lose situation. China loses out on access to cutting-edge technologies and expertise from U.S. firms on issues from pollution control to mass urbanization to food safety, and American companies lose an opportunity to expand their business in the world's largest clean energy market.

We are both leaving far too much opportunity on the table, and that does not have to be the case.

Working with our counterparts in the Chinese government, we hope to make progress in a number of key areas, including cyber security and intellectual property protection.

We appreciate the significant cyber security challenges that both of our countries face, but cyber security is not something that can be achieved by governments alone. We all want to protect our national security, but we must be nuanced in addressing these critical issues.

We encourage all governments to seek out the expertise of the private sector and technical community before imposing requirements, because our own experience has shown that doing so results in better cyber policies. And we avoid creating unnecessary barriers to trade and investment.

China's leaders often say that it is not their intention to use cyber policies as a means to inhibit commerce, and earlier this week, China's senior leadership emphasized that they are committed to addressing their cyber security challenges without building walls that prevent us from doing more business together. They also stressed that building a truly innovative economy in China is a top priority -- and they recognize that this ambition demands an intellectual property protection regime that is enforced broadly and consistently.

These ambitions are embedded in the Third and Fourth plenums, where China's leaders have declared that they want the market to play a "decisive role" and that the nation is committed to "comprehensively advance[ing] the rule of law."

We welcome this vision of a more open future for China's economy -- without which neither China nor our bilateral partnership will reach their full potential.

Now, the world is waiting for China to turn these aspirations into actions.

Despite challenges, over the course of the past three decades, China's economy has grown to be the second largest in the world.

You have lifted nearly 600 million of your people out of poverty -- which is almost twice the entire U.S. population. You have emerged as a nation of great influence in international economic and political affairs.

But with that power comes responsibility and a significant opportunity for China to influence global commerce. That opportunity is to help strengthen an international system that operates according to principles of economic openness, market transparency, and fair trade practices.

The United States and China can work together to reinforce and strengthen a global economic architecture that does more than serve our respective self-interests, but we must support high standards, good governance, and genuine multilateralism.

I would like to close today by reiterating my central message: with responsible partnership we will do more business together, and in so doing, we will protect and improve our environment.

To quote Mo Zi, who lived 2,500 years ago, we seek "mutual respect, mutual benefits, and equality in dealings."

If both our countries embrace this principle, our economies and our people will see mutual benefits. If both our countries embrace this principle, we can lead on clean energy and climate change. If both our countries embrace this principle, we will do more trade and investment. If both our countries embrace this principle, we will stay open for business together -- which is good for our countries and for the world. Thank you.

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