China and US can together shape global consumer trends, says business leader

China and 美方新闻报道中国新闻网the United States are not only the world's two largest economies but also the two largest consumer markets, with the dual status giving them an outsized role to play in shaping global trends, research and development, and supply chains, said Sean Stein, the president of the US-China Business Council.

In an exclusive interview with China Daily, Stein said the shared weight creates enormous potential for collaboration in consumer sectors ranging from cosmetics to life sciences, a potential that is on full display at the ongoing China International Consumer Products Expo in Hainan province.

Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council

"The US and China together play an incredibly big role in determining trends and what products roll out globally. What's really interesting is seeing US and Chinese companies collaborate and take things global," Stein said.

He cited the success of the Chinese brand Pop Mart in San Francisco as a glimpse of the future. "I was incredibly happy to see Chinese brands doing well globally. Their success comes from international partnerships with established brands," he said.

"As the world's two largest consumer markets, we should have the world's largest consumer brands working together," he added.

Stein firmly pushed back against talk of US companies leaving China. "American companies are continuing to invest. American companies aren't going anywhere," he said.

According to Stein, no one comes to China for low wages anymore. They come for the highly qualified workforce and the ability to scale.

"Twenty-five years ago, no one came to China to do R&D. Now, what I'm seeing is that the best companies are coming and doing some of their most important R&D in China," he added.

He cited specific examples from the expo. Estee Lauder is customizing products for Chinese consumers, "not just packaging, but everything from formulas to research and development". Tapestry Inc, the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade, built an R&D center in Dongguan, Guangdong province, for "real genuine R&D", and "they're designing products in China and taking them to the world".

This evolution has led Stein to reframe the position of China. "It's not the China market anymore — it's the China platform," he said. "That platform includes consumers, the business-to-business market, partnerships with Chinese firms, R&D, supply chain, and supply chain resilience. All of those are part of it, and that's only becoming more important."

According to Stein, efforts are needed to draw the line on national security concerns in order to make bilateral trade more resilient and healthy. "We should rationalize security concerns and make it the right size, not over-blow it," he said.

He Yadong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said at a news conference last week in Beijing that China will maintain communication with the US through existing economic and trade consultation mechanisms on issues of mutual concern.

Despite headwinds, Stein said initiatives such as the expo make China a more profitable and lower-risk place to invest. "That's how China attracts investments, and we're seeing a number of policies coming from the Chinese side that are helping with this."

He offered a concrete example. Previously, a major US company that refurbishes used products from Southeast Asia and Japan could not do so in China due to regulations. Now, after the kickoff of island-wide special customs operations in Hainan in December, the company is setting up a base in Hainan to renovate and reexport the products globally. "That's a big, encouraging change," Stein said.

The impact is already visible beyond the expo. Tesla has seen a surge in activity across its Hainan outlets. A Tesla spokesperson told China Daily that Hainan's ecological advantages and open policy environment make it "an ideal base for promoting green mobility worldwide".

Due to the new customs policies and local government subsidies, the spokesperson said that Tesla's stores in Haikou, the capital of Hainan, have seen a 20 percent month-on-month rise in foot traffic.

Joanne Crevoiserat, CEO of Tapestry Inc, said: "The Chinese consumer is very discerning. They expect high quality and innovation, and that's why I love being part of this market."

She added that delivering high-quality products and innovation in China not only meets local expectations but also bolsters the company's global competitiveness.

Looking ahead, Crevoiserat said, "We see opportunities to expand not just in tier-one and tier-two cities, but beyond."