US-China Relations Updates

According to informed sources, as China-US relations continue to improve, the United States is expected to send its highest-level delegation to visit China and attend the upcoming China International Import Expo next week.

According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post on Tuesday, Jason Hafemeister, the Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the US Department of Agriculture, and Wade Sheppard, the Senior Advisor for North Asia Affairs at the US Department of Agriculture, will visit Shanghai on Sunday, November 5th, to attend the six-day 6th China International Import Expo.

The sources also added that the US Heartland China Association, a non-governmental organization, will also send a delegation of 20 state governors to attend and explore trade opportunities.

This will be the first time that senior US officials attend the Import Expo, as previous editions of the event were mostly attended by individual US companies, trade organizations, and local officials. The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed that they will lead 17 exhibitors to participate in the Import Expo, and the US Agriculture Pavilion will make its appearance at the expo. The pavilion is jointly hosted by the US Department of Agriculture and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, and it will showcase agricultural products and technologies from California, Idaho, and Georgia.

The sources revealed that with the continuous improvement of China-US relations, the United States is expected to send its highest-level delegation to visit China and attend the China International Import Expo next week.

After a sharp downturn in China-US relations in early February this year due to the balloon incident, high-level exchanges between China and the US have recently become frequent in order to stabilize bilateral relations. Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and China’s Foreign Minister, embarked on a three-day visit to the United States on Thursday (26th), which is seen as paving the way for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco in November and his meeting with US President Biden.

The US Meat Export Federation, the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, the USA Rice Federation, and the US Cranberry Marketing Committee will also attend. The sources also added that the US Heartland China Association, a non-governmental organization, will send a delegation of 20 state governors to explore trade opportunities.

This will be the first time that senior US officials attend the Import Expo, as previous editions of the event were mostly attended by individual US companies, trade organizations, and local officials.

The 6th China International Import Expo will be held in Shanghai from November 5th to 10th. Sheng Qipin, Deputy Minister of Commerce of China, stated at a press conference last Monday (October 23rd) that the Expo next month is expected to welcome guests from 154 countries, regions, and international organizations. Over 3,400 exhibitors and 394,000 professional visitors have already registered, reaching pre-pandemic levels.

Although the US government initiated a trade war against China in 2018, agriculture remains a bright spot in China-US relations. The US Department of Agriculture stated in a report earlier this year that in the fiscal year 2022, US agricultural exports to China reached a record-breaking $36.4 billion, and China is expected to remain the major destination for US agricultural products for the third consecutive year. After a sharp downturn in China-US relations in early February this year due to the balloon incident, high-level exchanges between China and the US have recently become frequent in order to stabilize bilateral relations. Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and China’s Foreign Minister, embarked on a three-day visit to the United States on Thursday (26th), which is seen as paving the way for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco in November and his meeting with US President Biden.