Vice-Premier He Lifeng met with a delegation from the US-China Business Council on Sunday in Beijing and expressed hope that US companies will bring more stability and positive energy to bilateral economic and trade ties.

Describing China-United States relations as the world's most important bilateral relationship, he encouraged the council to continue playing its role as a bridge for fostering China-US friendship and for promoting the steady, sound development of bilateral economic and trade ties.

The vice-premier also expressed hope that US companies will seize the opportunities arising from China's development and tap the huge potential of the Chinese market.

The US guests, including Rajesh Subramaniam, chair of the council's board, and Sean Stein, president of the council, said the US business community remains optimistic about China's economic prospects and stands ready to expand its presence in China, while continuing to promote deeper US-China economic and trade cooperation.

The council is a nongovernmental, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing about 270 US companies doing business in China. In its spring 2025 annual member survey, nearly all respondents said they could not remain globally competitive without their China operations.

The two-day China Development Forum, which started in Beijing on Sunday, had earlier released its list of major foreign participants for the 2026 annual meeting, including Stein and Subramaniam, among other representatives of the US business community.

Sunday's meeting came a week after the vice-premier held two days of economic and trade talks in Paris, France, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

On Saturday, he met with senior representatives of multinational corporations in Beijing and said that China welcomes such companies to increase investment in the country and continuously deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

Observers said the US delegation's visit to China adds a business-level channel of communication alongside official consultations at a time when both sides are seeking to stabilize economic ties.

Taken together, the latest sequence of meetings suggests that Beijing is eager to reassure foreign companies and keep the US business community engaged despite geopolitical and economic headwinds.

zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn