Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker on November 22 and 23 at the 26th Session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman today led a U.S. delegation in discussions with Vice Premier Wang Yang and other Chinese government officials as part of the 26^th session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) in Guangzhou, China. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus also participated in this year’s JCCT. Established in 1983, the JCCT is the primary forum for addressing bilateral trade and investment issues and promoting commercial opportunities between the United States and China. 

In 2014, Secretary Pritzker, Ambassador Froman, and Vice Premier Wang “re-imagined” the JCCT in recognition of the dramatically-increased size and scope of the U.S.-China commercial relationship. Despite an economic transformation in China that has taken place over the last 15 years, as well as five-fold growth in bilateral trade between our two countries, the JCCT had not fundamentally changed in over a decade. The re-imagined JCCT is an effort to construct a dialogue that better reflects the scale, dynamism, challenges, and opportunities of the modern economic relationship between our two countries.

In addition to government-to-government meetings, this reinvigorated forum includes the strong participation of private sector representatives from both countries. Today’s government negotiations followed a full day of collaborative programming designed to facilitate such private sector engagement with officials from the United States and China, as well as to promote the exchange of information on trade opportunities at the state, provincial, and local levels.

This year’s private sector engagements included a roundtable discussion on corporate governance and transparency, featuring U.S. and Chinese government officials and CEOs from U.S. and Chinese companies; a networking event and luncheon recognizing the importance of bilateral cooperation at the local level, hosted by the Guangdong provincial government; a program highlighting mutually beneficial healthcare initiatives, supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Chambers of Commerce in China, and hosted by several Chinese government agencies; and a U.S. and Chinese stakeholder discussion regarding recent progress made toward safer and more reliable food chains.

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery on Sunday, November 22

Remarks from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker at the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) Luncheon Recognizing the Importance of Bilateral Cooperation at the Local Level

Remarks from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker at the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) Program Highlighting Mutually Beneficial Healthcare Initiatives

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery on Monday, November 23

Remarks from U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker at the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) Opening Plenary Session