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 Zukerberg

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 E. Lillie

Chief Executive Officer

Jarden Corporation

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