International cooperation is vital to ensuring the sustainability and business continuity of the global tech industry, and Chinese companies and their United States counterparts are working together, instead of decoupling, to cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, officials and experts said on Friday.

 

They commented after China's top leadership said the nation will remain committed to openness, cooperation and unity for win-win results.

 

Liu Liehong, vice-minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said as the global economy is facing downward pressure, innovation and cooperation are the only ways to effectively resolve contradictions that have emerged during economic globalization.

 

"We call for all parties to better leverage their own advantages to jointly deal with the effects of COVID-19 on the global supply chain, and to deepen partnerships in technological innovation so as to forge ahead together," Liu said on the sidelines of the ongoing third China International Import Expo.

 

Liu was reacting to the speech by President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the third CIIE on Wednesday. Xi said all countries need to come together to jointly tackle risks and challenges, strengthen cooperation and communication and embrace greater openness. Experts said the remarks highlight China's commitment to open partnerships with countries around the world, which will provide sound opportunities for international companies such as US enterprises.

 

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, a telecom industry association, said some people worry that the pandemic and trade frictions are causing the decoupling of Chinese and US tech companies, but in fact, they are deepening cooperation to cope with common challenges and advance joint innovation.

 

Matthew Margulies, vice-president of China operations at the US-China Business Council, an organization of over 200 US companies that do business with China, said the importance of continuing engagement, especially technological engagement, has not changed.

 

"Despite challenges, China continues to rank among the top priority markets for US companies. ... US companies' commitment to working with Chinese partners remains as steadfast as ever," Margulies said.

 

According to a council study published in August, 83 percent of US companies it has surveyed said China remains among the top five markets if not the most important for them, and 91 percent of them reported profitability in China.

 

Because of mutually beneficial interconnections between the two economies, the US business community rejects any notion of technological decoupling, Margulies added.

 

One example is Qualcomm Inc, which is attending the CIIE for a third consecutive year. At the expo, the US chip giant showcased a string of cutting-edge 5G smartphones and other products that it has jointly developed with Chinese companies.

 

"As a multinational company that has been in China for more than 25 years, Qualcomm has formed a close cooperative relationship with the Chinese industry," said Frank Meng, chairman of Qualcomm China."President Xi's speech conveyed a positive signal that China will continue furthering opening-up, which has strengthened our confidence in the Chinese market."