SHANGHAI, June 7 — What was meant to be a festive celebration marking the 110th anniversary of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Shanghai turned into a pointed exchange between U.S. and Chinese officials, underscoring ongoing friction in the U.S.-China trade relationship.
In remarks delivered to a crowd of U.S. business leaders, Scott Walker, U.S. Consul General in Shanghai, criticized Beijing for maintaining an “unbalanced and non-reciprocal” economic relationship with the United States.
“We want an end to discriminatory actions and retaliation against U.S. companies in China,” Walker said, prompting murmurs in the audience.
His comments were swiftly rebutted by Chen Jing, a senior Shanghai Communist Party official and president of the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, who addressed the audience immediately afterward.
“I believe the consul general’s view is prejudiced, ungrounded, and not aligning with the phone call of our heads of states last night,” Chen said, in reference to a recent call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The verbal volley comes as the two economic giants remain locked in a drawn-out trade standoff, recently reignited by disputes over rare earth minerals and unresolved tariff rollbacks. Although Trump and Xi agreed to resume talks during Thursday’s long-anticipated phone call, uncertainty continues to cloud the business climate.
Amid the diplomatic exchange, Eric Zheng, president of AmCham Shanghai, emphasized the toll that instability is taking on companies.
“Many businesses are hitting pause. Our number one ask from the two governments is to give us some certainty so that we can plan accordingly,” Zheng told reporters at the sidelines of the event.
Despite a tentative 90-day truce struck last month to ease tariffs, underlying tensions remain, with Washington accusing Beijing of backtracking on key commitments.
The clash at the AmCham event highlights just how fragile business sentiment remains — and how much rides on diplomatic progress between the world’s two largest economies.
