The U.S.-China Trade and Economic Relations: What Now, What Next forum that took place in Hong Kong on July 9-10 this year.

Zhang Xiaoqiang is Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the Executive Office and legal representative of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), one of China’s leading think tanks based in Beijing. In this interview on the side line of the What Now What Next conference, Mr. Zhang dived into the question of why the U.S. demands during the trade talks with China are out of line, and how the two sides could come to an agreement based on respect and realistic expectations.

Zeng Peiyan has served at high levels of state leadership: as Vice Premier of China, and as a Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Born in Shaoxing, outside Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province, he is a graduate of Tsinghua University.

Zhou Wenzhong was China's Ambassador to the United States during the administrations of George W Bush and Barack Obama. In this interview with James Chau, he discusses the gaps in understanding between the two countries and their respective approaches to the bilateral relationship. He says a containment policy is not effective with countries such as China and that instead a 'major power relations' could help steer their joint future.

Stephen Roach is the former Chief Economist at Morgan Stanley and a current Senior Fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. He says the U.S. depends on China as a low-cost source of foreign goods, funding of chronic budget deficits, and opportunities for American exporters. In this interview with James Chau, he also talks about his work in teaching the 'Next China' course at Yale University for almost a decade - a way of informing America's educational elite on the future ahead.

Professor Vali Nasr was Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies from 2012-2019. He says the fundamental issue for the the U.S. and China is how both countries view China's changing place in a changing global landscape. In this interview with James Chau, he says he is encouraged that trade negotiations are ongoing, but warns that concrete solutions must be created for that dialogue to count.

Professor Wang Huiyao is the President of the Center for China and Globallization. He says that when China opened-up to the world, it directly opened up to the United States. Those two events are separated by only a matter of weeks at the end of 1978 and the start of 1979. In this interview with James Chau, he points to the opportunities that the two largest economies share, and the future China's young people can offer. This interview was recorded at the US-China Trade and Economic Relations Forum in Hong Kong on 9-10 July, 2019.

Dr Ed Feulner is the Founder and The Heritage Foundation, the Washington-based think tank where he was also Present from 1977 to 2013. In this interview with James Chau, he says it is in the best interests of the U.S. and China to understand their mutual interests, but also encourages them to break from their traditional narrative by talking "concretely" and creating solutions. This interview was recorded at the US-China Trade and Economic Relations Forum in Hong Kong on 9-10 July, 2019.

Goh Chok Tong is one of only three people to have served as Singapore's Prime Minister since 1959, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew on his election in 1990 and remaining in that office till 2004. He is currently Senior Emeritus Minister and Member of Parliament. Stories from his distinguished leadership are captured in the new biography Tall Order, a biography that recounts his journey and challenges as a politician, and the formative experiences that inform his global leadership today. In this interview with James Chau, he anticipates the major trends in a rapidly changing world, and how attitudes towards globalization and opportunities around technology will present new challenges. He also discusses the "misunderstandings" between the two largest economies. This interview was recorded at the US-China Trade and Economic Relations Forum in Hong Kong on 9-10 July, 2019.

Yasuo Fukuda served as Japan's 58th Prime Minister and was also the longest Chief Cabinet Secretary in history. Under his leadership, he earned a reputation for his foresight in creating eco cities, that in some respects pre-empted the global environmental movement. In this interview with James Chau, he draws on Japan's historical trade relationship with the U.S., the significant pressures it was placed under in the post-war climate, and how both countries identified a way forward. Can a same or similar approach be applied to the contemporary global challenges? This interview was recorded at the US-China Trade and Economic Relations Forum in Hong Kong on 9-10 July, 2019.

Dr Fu Yuning is the Chairman of China Resources Holding and a member of the National Committee of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CCPPCC). In this interview with James Chau, he talks about the transformed role of state-owned enterprises in China, and lends his insight on how foreign-owned businesses can continue to leverage opportunities in China, especially around healthcare. This interview was recorded at the US-China Trade and Economic Relations Forum in Hong Kong on 9-10 July, 2019.

Neil Bush is the Founder and Chairman of the George HW Bush Foundation - named for his father, the 41st President of the United States. In this interview with James Chau, Bush recounts the stories from his own interactions with China, beginning with his first visit to Beijing in 1975. He also reflects on the modern development of China and advocates for "deeper dialogue" between the U.S. and China - a dialogue that must be globally inclusive, he says. This interview was recorded at the US-China Trade and Economic Relations Forum in Hong Kong on 9 July, 2019.

Since last year, the US government has kept escalating its trade frictions with China and seriously undermined the growth prospect of the two countries and the world. The Chinese government has advanced with maximum sincerity its trade talks with

Day 2 features keynote remarks by global leaders such as former Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien and former Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong, panel discussions by China scholars, former diplomats and industry representatives on the topics of globalization, multilateralism and global governance.

Speaking during the Session of US-China Relations: Now and Beyond, Tung Chee-hwa said that decoupling is not in the interest of the United States, nor of China, and certainly not in the interest of the world at large. In fact, it is really short-sighted.

I urge my Chinese friends to be as transparent as possible as it relates to intentions and implementation of programs that are the target of widespread global criticism. I advise my American friends not meddle in the internal affairs of China.

China is by no means a replica of the former Soviet Union. It will never follow down the beaten path of “power inevitably leading to hegemony”, for such a path will take us nowhere, nor is it welcome anywhere in the world. China will never become a second America, nor does it harbor ambitions of replacing it.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations. For the past four decades, the bilateral relationship has weathered numerous ups and downs as the two countries keep pressing forward.

The recent meeting in Osaka between Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi gives us hope that the US-China trade relationship can move forward again. Immediately before the Osaka meeting, many of us sensed that the people of the United States and China, and in particular in the business world of the two countries, want to see progress being made in the discussions. Trade negotiation is always difficult, and maybe there will be set-backs, but in the end, I believe that common sense will prevail.

Throughout his amazing life, my father played important roles in shaping US policy towards China. He often stated that the US-China relationship was the most important bilateral relationship in the world. He had deep understanding of the cultural, political, and economic complexities vital to normalizing ties. So my views are largely shaped by my father’s views but they are also shaped by over 140 trips to China over the past 44 years.

Through my many years of doing business in China and involvement in U.S.-China relations, it seems to me the solution to our current predicament is and has been for some time rather clear. When President Nixon visited China in 1972, its economy was marginal to world trade. Today, it is the second largest economy in the world and poised to become the global leader.

The China-United States Exchange Foundation, in partnership with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, kicks off the Day 1 of the US-China Trade and Economic Relations: What Now, What Next forum in Hong Kong on July 9, bringing together global leaders and thinkers for a two days of candid dialogues on ways to reduce trade tensions and what can be done to rebuild the declining trust between the two countries.

From our side, yes, we have to learn how to adjust more effectively to our interactions with China - the rising power. By I believe that China, the rising power, will also have to learn how to face reality that the United States is the current dominant power and the two of us have to continue to talk and to act positively as we meet and actually carry out the agreements that we can come together on.

It’s a humbling experience to follow Prime Minister Fukuda who reminds us that public policy issues such as those we will be considering here are not something new in the international arena. Hopefully we will be able to discover new ways that we can all work together to try and resolve at least some of the more contentious issues that confront us at the moment.

China, as one of the two world powers today, is in a position that must recognize its own status, must share the global perspective with other major countries with a sense of responsibility required for a world power.

The US should put the issue of trade deficits into perspective. It should not only emphasize deficits in trade in goods. Instead, it should take a comprehensive view of the reasons for trade deficits as well as its gains and losses. Its policies and measures must be taken on the basis of objective analysis. Simply levying tariffs will only be counterproductive.

And I hope that our discussions will not only be useful to you but that they will encourage you to take extra steps in support of a very important U.S. and China relations. Finally, I hope that at the end of this gathering, we can come away more positive and more confident about the future.

Group Photo of the Speakers at the Forum Opening Session, July 9th, 2019

We are all living today in a world that is so dramatically changing. The China of ten years ago was not playing such an important role in the world economy as today. Within the last decade, the Chinese people, who have exerted all out efforts on economic development, elevated their country to today’s world power position.

It is time we get together at this moment and people will say so soon after the meeting but that is exactly the point, to discuss the impact and importance to all of us. I am glad that today and tomorrow we have an opportunity to thoroughly discuss many important issues. And I hope that our discussions will not only be useful to you but that they will encourage you to take extra steps in support of a very important U.S. and China relations.