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Chinese vice president hopes U.S. firms 'take root' in

China

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Chinese shares rise as Xi, Trump call raises hopes for

reconciliation

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Trump previously hit over $300 billion of Chinese imports

with

tariffs

By Joe Cash, Josh Arslan and Ryan Woo

BEIJING, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Chinese officials and

ordinary people are hopeful but on edge as Donald Trump returns

to the White House, eager to avoid a repeat of the bruising

trade war that drove a wedge between the economic superpowers

during his first term.

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, in meetings with Tesla CEO

Elon Musk and other members of the U.S. business community in

Washington ahead of Trump's inauguration, said he hoped U.S.

companies would "take root" in China and help to stabilise

bilateral relations, according to the official Xinhua news

agency.

When Trump was last president, he heaped tariffs on more

than $300 billion of Chinese imports. In recent months, he has

said he would add tariffs of at least 10% on top of what is

already imposed on Chinese goods, a move that would hurt China

at a time when its economy is struggling to find a firm footing.

At the same time, the U.S. president-elect made the

seemingly conciliatory move of inviting Chinese President Xi

Jinping to attend his inauguration on Monday. Xi sent Han in his

place, a gesture of goodwill given that China was only

represented by its ambassador at the previous two U.S.

presidential inaugurations.

At their meeting on Sunday, Han told Musk, appointed by

Trump to lead a department aimed at creating a more efficient

U.S. government, that he "welcomed Tesla and other U.S.

companies" to share in the benefits of China's development and

contribute to China-U.S. relations.

The vice president's meeting with U.S. businesses was

chaired by FedEx ( FDX ) CEO, Rajesh Subramaniam, on the U.S.

side, and included the heads of eight U.S. firms from a range of

industries including technology, banking and logistics,

according to an American executive in the room, who added that

the meeting overran its allotted time and was very cordial.

"(Han Zheng) is seen as someone, because of his time in

Shanghai, who understands the concerns of the foreign business

community, he understands the economy," Michael Hart, president

of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, told Reuters in

Beijing.

"It's a nice fig leaf, or whatever you want to call it, so

that's positive."

Xi and Trump were upbeat after speaking by phone on Friday,

with Trump calling it "a very good one" and Xi saying he and

Trump both hoped for a positive start to U.S.-China relations.

On Monday, China and Hong Kong stocks rose as their phone

call eased some geopolitical concerns. The mainland's blue-chip

CSI300 Index climbed 0.9% by the lunch break, adding

to the 2.1% gain last week. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang

Seng Index jumped 2.3%, the most in five weeks.

"What I can see is that China's economy is not very good at

the moment, due to the impact of the pandemic, and (the fact

that) Trump himself is a crazy, wild person (doesn't help

matters on our side)," said a Beijinger surnamed Wang, 36.

"The pressure still remains quite big (for us)."