Washington, D.C.—The US-China Business Council (USCBC) and the Paulson Institute today issued a letter sent to President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, signed by 94 American CEOs, supporting a high-standard US-China Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The letter calls on the two presidents to underscore the importance of the BIT during President Xi’s upcoming state visit to the United States as a way to spur the negotiations between the two countries.
In the letter to the two Presidents, the CEOs indicate that they “firmly support the rapid conclusion of a meaningful and high-standard BIT between our two countries. As we look at the range of issues on the bilateral agenda, a high-standard BIT – with clear provisions providing equal treatment to each country’s investors and a short list of exceptions – is one of the key items that could make an immediate and tangible impact for both of our economies.”
“America’s business leaders have sent a strong, unified message to President Xi and President Obama supporting a high-standard US-China Bilateral Investment Treaty,” USCBC President John Frisbie said. “The BIT should be the top commercial focus during President Xi’s visit.”
“A Bilateral Investment Treaty would further open China’s economy to U.S. businesses and would lead to more U.S. job creation and give greater access to the Chinese market for American firms,” said Paulson Institute Chairman Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
Following is the full text of the letter:
September 14, 2015
The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
The Honorable Xi Jinping
President of the People’s Republic of China
Beijing, China
Dear President Obama and President Xi:
On the eve of President Xi’s state visit to the United States, we want to reiterate the importance of strong and mutually-beneficial trade and investment ties between our two countries. As the two largest economies in the world, the United States and China need a positive and enduring commercial relationship, which is an essential anchor for global economic growth.
Since China’s reform and opening up began in 1978, bilateral trade and economic relations have grown steadily to become the foundation of the US-China relationship. Our two countries now trade over $600 billion of goods and services. It is because of this robust foundation that throughout the various strains on the relationship, periods of diplomatic tension, and even a severe economic crisis, the economic relationship has endured and remained steady. We fully believe that it is in both of our countries’ interest to take the necessary steps to maintain, strengthen, and expand that relationship.
As such, we firmly support the rapid conclusion of a meaningful and high-standard Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between our two countries. As we look at the range of issues on the bilateral agenda, a high-standard BIT – with clear provisions providing equal treatment to each country’s investors and a short list of exceptions – is one of the key items that could make an immediate and tangible impact for both of our economies.
Just as China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001 stimulated dramatic growth in bilateral trade, concluding a BIT agreement will provide greater transparency and consistency to our respective investment regimes. We believe that increased cross-border investment flows will create economic growth and jobs, lending new momentum to the commercial relationship and fortifying the economic foundation already built.
We hope that significant progress can be made on this historic agreement during President Xi’s visit in September.
Sincerely,
Miles D. White
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Abbott
Barry Lee Myers
Chief Executive Officer
AccuWeather, Inc.
Evan G. Greenberg
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
ACE Limited/ACE Group
Michael S. Burke
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
AECOM
Mark T. Bertolini
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Aetna
Seifi Ghasemi
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
Klaus Kleinfeld
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Alcoa
Kenneth I. Chenault
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
American Express Company
Peter D. Hancock
President and Chief Executive Officer
American International Group, Inc.
Steve Van Andel
Chairman
Amway Corporation
Tim Cook
Chief Executive Officer
Apple Inc.
Gary E. Dickerson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Applied Materials, Inc.
Juan R. Luciano
Chief Executive Officer and President
Archer Daniels Midland
William A. Wulfsohn
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ashland Inc.
Barbara Hackman Franklin
President and Chief Executive Officer
Barbara Franklin Enterprises
Former US Secretary of Commerce
Warren E. Buffett
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Berkshire Hathaway
Michael Bloomberg
Founder
Bloomberg LP
Dennis A. Muilenburg
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Boeing Company
Ray Dalio
Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer
Bridgewater Associates
Patrick M. Prevost
President and Chief Executive Officer
Cabot Corporation
David. W. MacLennan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Cargill
David Rubenstein
Co-Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer
The Carlyle Group
Douglas R. Oberhelman
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Caterpillar Inc.
Craig A. Rogerson
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
Chemtura
Roberta Lipson
Chief Executive Officer and President
Chindex International, Inc.
Carl Casale
President and Chief Executive Officer
CHS Inc.
John D. Finnegan
Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer
The Chubb Corporation
David Cordani
President and Chief Executive Officer
Cigna
Chuck Robbins
Chief Executive Officer
Cisco
Michael Corbat
Chief Executive Officer
Citigroup, Inc.
Richard J. Tobin
Chief Executive Officer
CNH Industrial
Muhtar Kent
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Coca-Cola Company
William S. Cohen
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Cohen Group
Former US Secretary of Defense
Richard Lavin
President and Chief Executive Officer
Commercial Vehicle Group
Tom Linebarger
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Cummins
Thomas P. Joyce
President and Chief Executive Officer
Danaher Corporation
Robert A. Iger
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Walt Disney Company
Andrew N. Liveris
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Dow Chemical Company
Ellen Kullman
Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
DuPont
Daniel R. Langdon
Chief Executive Officer
East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc.
Douglas M. Baker, Jr.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ecolab
Dr. John C. Lechleiter
President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Eli Lilly & Company
David N. Farr
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Emerson
Fabrizio Freda
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Estée Lauder Companies
Rex W. Tillerson
Chairman and Chief Executive
ExxonMobil
Mark Zuckerberg
Chairman and CEO
Facebook
Frederick W. Smith
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
FedEx Corporation
Peter Oosterveer
Chief Operating Officer
Fluor Corporation
Mark Fields
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ford Motor Company
Jeffrey R. Immelt
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
General Electric
Lloyd Blankfein
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Matt Levatich
President and Chief Executive Officer
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Michael O. Johnson
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Herbalife
John P. Bilbrey
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
The Hershey Company
Meg Whitman
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
The Hewlett Packard Company
Carla A. Hills
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
Hills & Company
Former US Trade Representative
David M. Cote
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Honeywell
Ginni Rometty
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
IBM Corporation
Brian Krzanich
Chief Executive Officer
Intel
Jeff N. Gentry
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
INVISTA
James Lillie
Chief Executive Officer and President
Jarden
Alex Gorsky
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Johnson & Johnson
Alex A. Molinaroli
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Johnson Controls
James Dimon
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Henry R. Kravis
Co-Chairman and Co-CEO
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
David H. Long
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Liberty Mutual Insurance Group
David Holl
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mary Kay Inc.
Ajay Banga
President and Chief Executive Officer
MasterCard
Douglas L. Peterson
President and Chief Executive Officer
McGraw Hill Financial
Mack McLarty
Chairman
McLarty Associates
Kasper Jakobsen
President and Chief Executive Officer
Mead Johnson Nutrition
Kenneth C. Frazier
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Merck & Co., Inc.
Martin P. Slark
Chief Executive Officer
Molex, LLC
Hugh Grant
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Monsanto Company
Raymond W. McDaniel
President and Chief Executive Officer
Moody’s Corporation
James P. Gorman
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Morgan Stanley
Truman Hunt
Chief Executive Officer
Nu Skin Enterprises
Mark S. Towe
Chief Executive
Oldcastle, Inc.
Gregory H. Boyce
Chairman
Peabody Energy
Indra K. Nooyi
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
PepsiCo
Ian C. Read
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Pfizer
Stephen F. Angel
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Praxair, Inc.
David S. Taylor
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Procter & Gamble Company
Tom Lynch
Chief Executive Officer
TE Connectivity
Marc N. Casper
President and Chief Executive Officer
Thermo Fisher Scientific
John J. Haley
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Towers Watson
Keith E. Williams
President and Chief Executive Officer
UL LLC
Greg Hayes
President and Chief Executive Officer
United Technologies Corporation
Charles Scharf
Chief Executive Officer
Visa
Dr. Peter S. Chen
President & Chief Executive Officer
VOLK Flow Controls, Inc.
Doug McMillon
President and Chief Executive Officer
Walmart Stores, Inc.
Danny Roderick
President and Chief Executive Officer
Westinghouse Electric Company
Steve Voorhees
Chief Executive Officer
WestRock
Jeff Fettig
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Whirlpool Corporation
About the US-China Business Council: The US-China Business Council (USCBC) is a private, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of more than 200 American companies that do business with China. For over four decades, USCBC has provided unmatched information, advisory, advocacy, and program services to its membership. Through its offices in Washington, DC; Beijing; and Shanghai, USCBC is uniquely positioned to serve its members’ interests in the United States and China.
About the Paulson Institute: The Paulson Institute is a “think and do” tank that promotes environmental protection and sustainable development in the United States and China, while advancing bilateral economic relations and cross-border investment. Established in 2011 by Henry M. Paulson, Jr., the Institute is committed to the principle that today’s most pressing economic and environmental challenges can be solved only if the United States and China work in complementary ways.
The non-partisan, independent Institute works at the nexus of economic and environmental issues in the United States and China. Its programs in China focus on improving climate and air quality, advancing ecological conservation and promoting sustainable cities. The Institute’s Think Tank publishes papers on the most important macroeconomic issues facing China today, energy strategies and issues in US-China relations. The Institute promotes bilateral cross-border investment that will improve US-China relations and help create jobs and works to reduce economic risk from climate change. The Institute is headquartered at the University of Chicago and has offices in Washington and Beijing.